While anonymity is often employed as a security mechanism by Internet users, strong authentication and unique identifiers are more practical methods, based on comments made by Vint Cerf, chief Internet evangelist at Google.
"The notion of uniqueness is incredibly powerful. It should never be given up," asserted Cerf while speaking at the 2013 RSA Conference.
Often referred to as one of the fathers of the Internet, Cerf delivered a sincere lecture about "axiomatic authentication," or pseudonyms versus precise identification, to a packed keynote hall on Wednesday afternoon.
Acknowledging that some of his ideas might be "stupid," Cerf also argued his suggestions about more secure systems might also all be about simplicity.
In describing a hypothetical situation about discovering if a person's online identity is valid or not, Cerf touched on the debate around digital signatures and just how authoritative this medium is yet.
