ABSTRACT

TRUST CHAIN AND IDENTITY

Trust is a fundamental component in various aspects of individuals' life (e.g., as users of online services, of the healthcare system, and as employees), as well as in organizations (companies, financial institutions, etc.), institutions (e.g., governments), financial markets, and so on. Interactions between the different actors involved in all such contexts are indeed based on underlying trust chains. Trust chains are also implied between components of hardware and/or software systems, and in particular in complex cyber-physical and Internet-of- things systems, whose complexity, autonomy and scope is constantly increasing, even in critical infrastructures (e.g., transportation systems).

Trust chains are undergoing significant changes due to the widespread use of information technology. In particular, less invasive and adaptive devices (the "disappearing computing" phenomenon) are leading to the emergence not only of novel, but also unnoticed trust chains.