The Future of Identity in the Information Society

What constitutes an identity, how do new technologies affect identity, how do we manage identities in a globally networked information society? The increasing div- sity of information and communication technologies and their equally wide range of usage in personal, professional and official capacities raise challenging questions of identity in a variety of contexts. The aim of the IFIP/FIDIS Summer Schools has been to encourage young a- demic and industry entrants to share their own ideas about privacy and identity m- agement and to build up collegial relationships with others. As such, the Summer Schools have been introducing participants to the social implications of information technology through the process of informed discussion. The 4th International Summer School took place in Brno, Czech Republic, during September 1–7, 2008. It was organized by IFIP (International Federation for Infor- tion Processing) working groups 9.2 (Social Accountability), 9.6/11.7 (IT Misuse and the Law) and 11.6 (Identity Management) in cooperation with the EU FP6 Network of Excellence FIDIS and Masaryk University in Brno. The focus of the event was on security and privacy issues in the Internet environment, and aspects of identity m- agement in relation to current and future technologies in a variety of contexts.