Compound Identity Measure: A New Concept for Information Assurance

In this paper we have presented a new concept: the compound identity measure. In essence, the compound identity combines the user identity with the contextual information under which the user acts. The measure of the compound identity is a weighted combination of the user related entities and the context related entities. This numeric measure is a variable depending upon what entities are included and with what relative weightings. This variability can be a function of the real-time SA/COP data, thus allowing it to dynamically respond to the operational events, in the near real-time. We have defined the concept, described the detailed methods to evaluate the concept into a measure, pointed out the enabling technologies, and illustrated the scheme with an example. We have also pointed out how to use the compound identity measure in a policy-based decision engine, and various areas of its application. The concept is currently being prototyped in our laboratory to support VoIP capabilities in IPv6 networks