ARMONK, N.Y., Nov. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE:
IBM) Identity Mixer, a new tool to protect a consumer's personally
identifiable information, is now generally available on IBM
Cloud.
Accessible to developers on Bluemix, IBM's Cloud platform,
Identity Mixer is built on years of cryptography research, and
holds the key to helping to reduce identity theft happening as the
result of sharing personal data on mobile and web apps. Using
algorithms, the tool allows developers to build apps which can
authenticate users' identities without collecting personal data,
otherwise known as a "zero-knowledge proof."
For example, consider an online streaming movie service app
which requires users to verify that they have a paid subscription
and that they are not a minor. Traditionally, the user would enter
in his or her full date of birth, along with a number of other
personal details which aren't necessary, such as first and last
name, location, etc.
Using Identity Mixer, however, the app can simply verify the
authenticity of the user's claims of being above a certain age and
having a subscription - without having to collect any other details
or to interact. Because no other personally identifiable data is
exchanged, companies do not have the burden of protecting and
securing this data, and users no longer have the risk of their data
being exposed to malicious third parties.
Built by scientists at IBM's Research facilities in Zurich, Switzerland, Identity Mixer
authenticates users by asking them to provide a public key. Each
user has a single secret key which corresponds with multiple public
keys, or identities. Each transaction a user makes receives a
different public key and leaves no privacy "breadcrumbs."
A webinar on November 20, 2015 at
4:00 pm CET (10:00 am EDT) will feature IBM cryptographers who
will demonstrate how Identity Mixer works on Bluemix and respond to
participants' questions.
Visit http://www.zurich.ibm.com/idemixwebinar to
register.
For more information on IBM Identity Mixer, view a
short video or
visit https://idemixdemo.mybluemix.net/. Follow the
conversation on Twitter using #identitymixer.
IBM launched Bluemix with a $1
billion investment in 2014, growing rapidly to become the
largest Cloud Foundry deployment in the world. The
open-standards-based Bluemix catalog includes over 120 tools and
services spanning categories of big data, mobile, Watson, analytics, integration, DevOps,
security and Internet of Things. IBM Bluemix was recently shown to
be the "developers' choice" of PaaS, and is growing 10-times faster
than the overall PaaS market, according to research firm ESG.
Contact:
Erin Lehr
212-671-9363
edlehr@us.ibm.com
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKK1PxGu6Fo
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO
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SOURCE IBM