Reputation Management as an Extension of Future Identity Management

Introduction

Internet users do not only use professional services current identity management assists them in, but more and more also interact with each other or use services created by other Internet users. In interactions with professional services, but even more with unknown individuals, security requirements and trust issues regarding the interaction partner are an important issue. A user has certain expectations on the interaction partners’ behaviour which these might fulfil or not. Interaction partners who fulfil these expectations are seen as trustworthy in the future while those who do not seem to be not trustworthy. Most users adapt their behaviour in future interactions to the interaction partners’ trustworthiness in former interactions. While professional services try to behave compliant with certain quality standards and legal obligations, such professional service level often cannot be expected from individuals. But this is an issue current identity management does not assist or even address [BPHL+06a, BPHL+07a].