i-Cards: the next SSN?

When it comes to the new information cards - the digital wallet initiative backed by the likes of Google, Intel, Microsoft and Oracle - think of this as Phase 1, the information gathering phase This week, another partner in the effort - credit reporting agency Equifax - launched an online identity card, a beta test of a digital identity management product designed to make online transactions more secure for consumers and businesses.

The i-cards are being compared to online versions of driver's licenses or passports that allow customers to "click-in" to online or e-commerce sites that normally might require some sort of log-in. Equifax says that, ss the technology is adopted, people will be able to create and collect I-cards that contain personal data such as their profile, purchase preferences, payment, or verified identity information.

The Equifax card is the first launch of a pr0ject endorsed by the Information Card Foundation, a non-profit organization working toward developing a simpler and more secure digital identity on the Web. The groups are leveraging their brand awareness and reputations of securely managing identities to get people to adopt the i-Card initiative. Equifax, a credit-monitoring agency, has a longstanding reputation of dealing with personal and sensitive information.

Still, it's a tough plunge to cough up so much personal information when registering for an i-Card, info such as social security number, birth date and more. However, A piece in Information Week last month, which laid out some thoughts about why social security numbers are an outdated form of identifying people and a uniform information card of some sort is more of a solution. It might make you change your mind.