identifiering

Identifiering is the process of establishing or assigning an identity to a person, object, or concept, and of linking that identity to a stable, unique reference. It covers both recognizing who or what is present and creating or enforcing identifiers that can be used in records, systems, and communication. In practice, identifiering enables traceability, access control, data management, and interoperability across organizations and sectors.

Personal identifiering includes identity verification for services and border control, using documents, biographical data, or biometric traits. Object identifiering assigns identifiers such as serial numbers, barcodes, RFID tags, or asset tags to physical items for tracking and inventory. In information systems, identifiering uses unique identifiers like UUIDs, DOIs, ISBNs, or URIs to distinguish records, artifacts, and digital resources. In research and data management, identifiering supports citation, provenance, and reproducibility by binding entities to persistent references.

Methods span biometric identification (fingerprint, facial recognition, iris scan), document-based verification (passports, licenses), challenge questions, and digital credentialing (cryptographic keys, tokens). Data- and resource-oriented identifiering relies on standards and naming schemes, governance policies, and metadata to ensure consistency, de-duplication, and persistence over time.

Challenges include privacy and consent concerns, data protection regulations, accuracy biases, spoofing, and the risk of re-identification. Effective identifiering programs typically combine technical controls, legal frameworks, and governance practices to balance usability, security, and privacy while maintaining interoperability across systems.

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