User Management 2.0

It seems to be everywhere, the compulsive need to login, to authorize to put an identity with that strange person across the networks. I am not just talking about that standard 'username' and 'password' box. While the communications sector is no stranger to authentication, it seems we are starting to really test our waters as new technologies rest on the horizon that are finally being implemented into daily usage. Verisign (Paypal implementation) use a physical 'multi-authentication' device to solidify the identity of the end user. While this is catching on slowly, I am sure that the future is wide open to the potential implementation of banks requiring these devices to authenticate a end user to avoid the attacks against the banks that continue to come in waves day after day.

My pondering however is to what extent can we see user management on any scale form? Will there be a ultimate authentication method that can protect the 'signature' between a end user and a business? Can this method be protected from privacy invasion? Are these tokens trackable? Each one of these questions are what I consider 'golden nuggets' to the industry and its future.