Microsoft acquires Credentica’s U-prove technology
I am thrilled to announce that Microsoft has acquired Credentica’s U-Prove™ technology, together with all of the underlying patents. Microsoft plans to integrate the technology into Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Cardspace. Check out the blogs of Kim Cameron and Microsoft’s Corporate Privacy Group for more information.
In addition, I and my stellar colleagues Greg Thompson and Christian Paquin have joined Microsoft’s Identity and Access Group. We will be working very closely with Kim Cameron and many other Microsoft experts to bring the technology to market.
I cannot begin to express how incredibly excited I am about this milestone. It marks not only the end of an entrepreneurial journey of fifteen years, but also the start of a tremendously exciting new phase that I have been working towards for a long time. To expound, from the early nineties on the technology has always enjoyed considerable interest from leading industry players, first for electronic cash purposes and later for digital identity and access control purposes. Throughout these years I ignored acquisition offers, primarily out of concern that the technology would end up in the dustbin. There were good reasons to believe this would be a likely outcome: user-centric identity was not on anyone’s business agenda, multi-party security was deemed overkill even for military applications, and privacy-by-design was merely an academic pursuit. And so I decided to enter into business arrangements with much smaller companies and investment units whose interests were strategically aligned with mine. I also ignored venture capital, in spite of strong interest from investors; the lack of a convincing business model would likely have forced shareholders down a painful path, along the lines of what happened at two of my former licensees.
This time around, things are different – very different. For starters, the market needs in identity and access management have evolved to a point where technologies for multi-party security and privacy can address real pains. Secondly, there is no industry player around that I believe in as much as Microsoft with regard to its commitment to build security and privacy into IT systems and applications. Add to that Microsoft’s strong presence in many of the target markets for identity and access management, its brain trust, and the fact that Microsoft can influence both the client and server side of applications like no industry player can, and it is easy to see why this is a perfect match.
Now that this acquisition has been completed, I will be blogging much more frequently again than I have in the past year. Among others, I look forward to sharing information on this blog about Microsoft’s plans for the technology as they unfold.
In the meantime, for those who are new to this blog and wonder what the acquisition is about, I recommend that you check out the educational materials on the Credentica web site, which we have turned into an information site. A good starting point is the flash demo.
Congratulations Stefan - that’s great news and well deserved.
[...] and Stefan blog about Microsoft’s acquisition of Stefan’s selective disclosure patents and [...]
Congratulations - it must have been a fantastic monetary offer to make you withdraw credentials from the open market like this and hand over control of identity to MS.
This just set PET back many years.
Great progress Stefan!
-pb
Hey Dr,
I always knew this would happen. I am so happy and proud of you…
All my best
Sophie
[...] were announced. For more details on U-Prove and the rationale behind the acquisition, check out Stephan Brands’ blog post on the acquisition. Filed under Acquisitions, Technologies, WCF, CardSpace, Microsoft, U-Prove [...]
[...] Stefan went on to found Crendentica to continue the work of commercialization of his invention. Today he announced that Microsoft has acquired his company and he and his team are joining Microsoft. [...]
[...] Of course there is the recent acquisition o f U-prove. You can read Stefan Brands’ thoughts here and Kim Cameron’s here. I think that this is in theory a great move for Microsoft that could be [...]
Fantastic news. Kim Cameron’s “enlightened corner of Microsoft” is one of the very few corporate partners in whose hands I’m happy to see you. A safe product from a market leader is way better news for consumers than a brilliant technology that cant find its way to a mass market. So I’m delighted as a consumer (unlike the sarcastic Mr Engberg) and delighted for you Stefan.
[...] details were not disclosed for both of the deals. Credentica’s founder has more details about the acquisition at this blog. For Pi Corp, there is one exhaustive post about the deal by Chuck Hollis, an “EMC [...]
Hi Stefan,
Well done and congratulations, I remember our talks here in Amsterdam as well as your PhD-event in Eindhoven and am pleased to hear this news !
Simon
[...] Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Cardspace. Company founder Stefan Brands has also blogged about the deal. Related [...]
[...] Stefan went on to found Crendentica to continue the work of commercialization of his invention. Today he announced that Microsoft has acquired his company and he and his team are joining Microsoft. [...]
William,
The challenge about Privacy enhancing technologies is that even the best solution only takes on identifier or one key in the wrong hands to get infected turning into its opposite.
Credentials is an important part of id solutions, but non-linkability dones help if the underlying communicatation is not secured. You only need to look to the Google profilling setup to se this in effect.
Controlling the technology can easily be turned into be a powerfull weapon.
I meant what I wronte. It is greate that Stefan Brands was awarded for his important effort. but only time will tell if this was hiring the fox to look after the chicken.
[...] Brands is also really happy: For starters, the market needs in identity and access management have evolved to a point where [...]
[...] 10, 2008 I must confess to mixed feelings about news that Microsoft has acquired Credentica’s U-Prove™ technology, together with all of the underlying [...]
[...] and leaves control of information with consumers is evolvong at Microsoft. Microsoft has acquired Credentica’s user-centric model with plans to integrate the technology into Windows [...]
Congratulations, Stefan.
I hope that the Microsoft connection helps evade the dustbin. It’s about time this technology started getting used. (And in a way, having it in Microsoft’s hands could be great PR, because Microsoft otherwise has exactly the reputation of a huge company you wouldn’t want to trust with all the versions of your digital persona…
[...] blog coverage from Microsofties Kim Cameron and Adam Shostack, and on Stefan Brands‘ own [...]
Ongeloofelijk!
I was so excited to read about U-Prove… until I came to the part where it has been sold to Microsoft.
Microsoft is the very WORST about online security and customer service. In the year and a half we have been using their software, we have been victim to online ID theft, folders in our email totally disappearing, strange email from Windows Live, a nightmare with Messenger, error messages popping up out of nowhere - with no information on what the “error” is, and trying to contact customer or anyone at Microsoft - well, we all know the old saying about ’scarce as hen’s teeth.’ To say nothing of the fact that Microsoft has more control over our computer than we do.
It’s great that the Bill Gates family is so involved with their charitible foundation. Just wish they’d apply a charitible attitude toward the customers of microsoft.
The guy who came up with U-Prove is probably a millionaire now. I’m all for the American entrepeneur, but I’d like to see the benefits spread around a little more - to the end user.
I personally will use as few Microsoft products as is humanly possible. I don’t worry as much about the governmental ‘Big Brother’ as I do about computer ‘Big Brother.’