And with the recent passage of the e-signature bill, the security of digital identities will take on even greater importance. Authentication on the Web is still tricky at best.
Most sites authenticate users in one of several ways.
Using any two of the above is considered strong user authentication. The downside is that these combinations don't support mobile users unless all Internet access points support smart cards or biometrics. Kerberos is much the same in that it delivers a ticket for strong authentication with application servers. A compromised server housing thousands of digital identities is a costly, embarrassing security breach. VeriSign to the rescue Verisign inc.