4 March, 2005 - 4:01pm

Business Week has just written on the need for a common login system to combat phishing attacks and prevent identity theft. The author, Stephen H. Wildstrom, calls for "something like Microsoft's failed Passport, but with broad industry support." We wholeheartedly agree.

He points out that the "issue is authentication -- proving that you are who you claim to be online." He believes that a necessary evil for businesses to have real online security, is adding an extra step to passwords, supplementing them with either a biometric, such as a fingerprint, or a code.

We've recently discussed how Sxip addresses authentication, identity assertion, phishing, and identity theft. Find out more in Sxip developer Andy Smith's blog entries Gone Phishing, Digital Identity: Unified Systems and Open Protocols, and Credentials, Not Business Cards.