Technology advances have enabled about a quarter of the world's population to connect to the global telecommunications system from a variety of devices. These include fixed and mobile telephones, laptop PCs and even mainframe computers, provided they can get a line. In the not-too-distant future, millions, even billions, of machines will talk directly to other machines over the global networks. This makes it increasingly important to understand who (or what) one is addressing in an online communication.

URL: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/08/18/231838/identity-management-an-essential-guide-for-it-professionals.htm