How Identity Works
From a Signature to a Passkey
Shikhar Singh
Founder & Chairman · KedByte Technologies Private Limited
- Chapters
- 60Chapters
- Parts
- 5Parts
- Words
- 769KWords
- Print pages
- 1,403Print pages
Reading sections in this book
Each chapter in How Identity Works uses these sections. Begin with the plain explanation and its limits, then explore the technical detail and review what you have learned.
| # | Section | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The plain version | The idea in everyday language. |
| 2 | Where the plain version stops being true | The limits and qualifications to keep alongside the explanation. |
| 3 | The technical version | The mechanisms and technical detail behind the idea. |
| 4 | Common wrong ideas | Misconceptions to check against what you have learned. |
| 5 | Chapter summary in 20 lines | A concise recap to revisit after reading. |
The single pass
Read in order, beginning with Chapter 1: The Oldest Problem. The opening part is What Identity Is.
The double pass
Read The plain version together with Where the plain version stops being true. Then return to The technical version for more detail, and use the misconceptions and summary to review.
Find a topic
Use the contents to browse 60 chapters across 5 parts, from What Identity Is to Identity, Society and the Law.
From a Signature to a Passkey
5 parts, 60 chapters. Open any part to see its chapters, or start at the beginning and keep going.
IWhat Identity IsIdentifiers, attributes and claims. What an identity record is, how one gets created, and why one person, one row is the hardest promise in software.Chapters 1–11/Volume 1
IIProving It Is YouSecrets, codes, bodies and keys. From the first password in 1961 to the passkey in your phone, and what each of them actually proves.Chapters 12–24/Volume 2
IIIThe Certificate and the SignatureHow a stranger's key becomes trustworthy. Certificates, chains, revocation, transparency, and what a signature means in law.Chapters 25–35/Volume 3
IVIdentity Between SystemsSessions, tokens, delegation and federation. How one system tells another who you are without either of them lying.Chapters 36–47/Volume 4
VIdentity, Society and the LawAssurance, regulation, national schemes and failure. The perishable volume, dated deliberately so it can be revised on its own.Chapters 48–60/Volume 5
- 48How Sure Are You
- 49Know Your Customer
- 50A Billion People and One Number
- 51Europe's Wallet
- 52Britain's Approach
- 53Credentials You Carry
- 54Proving How Old You Are
- 55Identity and Privacy Law
- 56The Right Not to Be Identified
- 57When Identity Is Stolen
- 58Breaches That Taught Us Something
- 59Designing an Identity System
- 60What Breaks and What It Costs
The complete edition, free
1,403 pages as a single PDF, with 5 individual volumes also available. Chapter numbers are identical in every edition, so a cross-reference means the same thing wherever you read it.