Lessons from Electrification for Identification

As we´ve seen with the electrical system´s evolution and the reengineering of the US voting system, change makes us rediscover essential assumptions and expectations about systems as well as their complexity and inherent risks. In the case of e-voting, the debate reeducated society at large about our expectations of the process, why we have such things as secret ballots, and what it takes to provide confidence that the process has been conducted fairly. With this issue of S&P, we hope that you´ll be better prepared to participate in the debate over identity management and ensure that the nontechnical policy makers who will make many of the key decisions can make high-quality choices.