Open identity expert flies the Microsoft coop
That didn't last long.
Dick Hardt, the digital-identity expert hired by Microsoft in December 2008, has decided to leave the company, as first reported by TechFlash's Todd Bishop.
Hardt is the founder and CEO of Sxip Identity. He was known for his take on the “Identity 2.0″ concept (and blog of the same name). Identity 2.0, or digital identity, is focused on using emerging technologies like OpenID to improve cross-vendor authentication and user security.
Hardt referred to the past 12 months as the "Year of Darkness." He elaborated on his new digital-identity blog:
"I only wrote a couple blog posts. I was inactive in the OpenID community. I did not talk to press or analysts. I gave no public presentations.
"On the positive side, I was given the opportunity to herd the cats on OAuth WRAP and get it out the door."
In his blog post, Hardt said he was moving to San Francisco, and planned to get back to posting, speaking and blogging more about identity. No word yet on where he'll be working.
Microsoft officially has been backing the OpenID authentication and access-control standard. But some of its officials, like identity expert Kim Cameron, have expressed worries regarding OpenID's security and usability.