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It is right and proper that the Open Identity Exchange acknowledge the passing of Kim Cameron, a giant in our field. Our colleague, Joerg Resch eloquently memorialized Kim’s many contributions to our industry as "fundamentally influencing the way we think about, and deal with privacy and digital identity.” As many note Kim’s contributions to our industry historic, a bit of history may be in order.
The Open Identity Exchange “origin story” began almost 10 years ago in the Obama Administration’s White House. The impetus for a public private policy collaboration on digital identity took root in the form of the US National Strategy on Trusted identities in Cyber Space and evolved further when representatives of the UK Cabinet Office Government Digital Service joined the Open Identity Exchange Board of Directors. Those programs were early attempts by government and industry leaders to find common cause in the protection of privacy and securing online identity. These early attempts were guided in large part by Kim Cameron’s "7 laws of Identity.
Kim’s "7 Laws” not only acted as a reference for policy makers they also set the stage for yet another innovation. Kim was among the first to champion the development of trust frameworks. He made sure Microsoft was among the founding members of the Open Identity Exchange and encouraged others to join. He was the prototypical thought leader in what was then a nascent understanding of importance of aligning technology tools and governance rules. Microsoft sustaining support of the Open Identity Exchange’s research and development of trust frameworks is a tribute to Kim’s pioneering efforts.
Kim’s legacy loom large on the identity landscape. Organizations like the OpenID Foundation and the Open Identity Exchange are among those that benefited from his early advocacy and stalwart support. As said in the many tributes to his work, Kim's passing reminds us of our debt to those who volunteer their time and talents, break new ground and clear a path we follow today.