Proving identity during an electronic transaction emerged as an identity issue in the 1990s and the 2000s. Particularly with moves towards electronic voter registration and voting over the internet, the issue of proving that the person sending an electronic transaction is the person named in the transaction is becoming a very important one. Various strategies, such as the provision of electronic signatures, public key encryption and use of Personal Identity Numbers (PINs) are being developed. This field is still relatively in its infancy, however it is changing rapidly and improvements in proving electronic identities can be expected in the 2000s.
For more information, see Identification Systems and Encryption.
