myRIDE anonymity
Elaboration of a study showing technological possibilities for anonymous travel even if digital processes are used.
Factsheet
- Schools involved School of Engineering and Computer Science
- Institute(s) Institute for Data Applications and Security (IDAS)
- Research unit(s) IDAS / Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Strategic thematic field Thematic field "Humane Digital Transformation"
- Funding organisation Others
- Duration (planned) 21.03.2024 - 30.06.2024
- Head of project Pascal Mainini
- Partner Alliance SwissPass
Situation
The ability to travel anonymously is an important feature of public transport. There are various groups of people that are dependent on being able to use public transport without leaving any identifying information behind. In the digital wo
Course of action
Working with the Alliance SwissPass, the industry organisation for public transport, the project looked for options and solutions for anonymous travel where digital payment is used. This was done in part by analysing tariff models and payment methods, and insights were gained into how these can be implemented in a way that preserves anonymity.
Result
The results of the analysis were summarised in a study. The most important realisation is that it is still possible to travel anonymously even if digital processes are used. There are different solutions that are based either on secure hardware on the travellers’ end devices or on distributed procedures (Secure Multi-Party Computing).
Looking ahead
The insights gained provide a basis for the future development of payment systems and throw up interesting questions for further research.
