Internet Safety Technical Task Force Technology Submission

Internet Safety Technical Task Force
Technology Submission
Portcard, Inc.
http://www.portcard.net

ABSTRACT
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Portcard validates the identity of an individual behind their
Portcard offers a unique solution consistent with Attorney
usernames on social networking services and stores a
General Blumenthal’s position. Portcard specifically:
members’ multiple identities (usernames) with a single
• Validates the identity of an individual behind a username,
membership. This cross-platform solution allows users of
screen name, or alias;
the various social networks and IM platforms to quickly
• Stores all of a person’s usernames in a single membership
and easily check to see if someone they are chatting with or
so that all social networking sites are treated equally;
someone who sends them a friend request is a member at
Portcard. Portcard gives parents comfort in knowing that
• Prevents another social networking user from obtaining a
their child has the ability, and obligation, to “card” the
member’s personal information;
people they are communicating with on these highly
• Allows individuals to maintain outward anonymity and a
popular social networking sites and platforms.
unique persona or multiple personas on the Internet;
KEYWORDS
• Securely stores identity information in the event there is a
Identification, verification, parental controls, Internet
need to identify a particular Portcard member to law
authentication, social networking.
enforcement; and
FUNCTIONAL GOALS
• Provides revenue sharing with the referring site to
promote referrals and facilitate adoption.
Please indicate the functional goals of the submitted
technology by checking the relevant box(es):
Registration.
X - Limit harmful contact between adults and minors
A new Portcard member’s identity is verified through a
X - Prevent harassment, unwanted solicitation, and bullying
series of interview questions, which are based on historical
of minors on the Internet
data drawn from a vast array of both public and private data

sources. Portcard members can register multiple aliases for
PROBLEM INTRODUCTION
themselves, as well as for their children by purchasing a
“family” membership – these aliases will be then identified
Portcard addresses the problem of Internet predators and
as “validated” by the Portcard site.
cyber bullies who are hiding behind the total anonymity of
the Internet. An Attorney General summarized the issue
“Carding” for safety.
and his solution for families over two years ago: “MySpace
This voluntary identification process is similar to obtaining
is requiring anyone over 18 to know the full names or email
a driver’s license or state identification card for the
addresses of someone under 16 before contacting them.
Internet. As users interact on the Internet through any
Without age verification, this restriction is meaningless
means – social networking sites, instant messaging, etc. –
because both predators and children can - and will - skirt
they have the ability to “card” a given alias and check if
this barrier by lying about their ages. I will continue to
that user has been validated by Portcard. Parents are
press MySpace to implement effective age verification,
involved by educating their children about how to “card”
acting with other attorneys general.” [1]
people who contact them on the Internet.
Portcard’s solution is to provide a new layer of safety for
We do not pretend to know what users are bad, or have
the millions of users who visit social networks daily in an
illicit intent, but rather Portcard verifies everyone so that
effective and user-friendly manner. Portcard’s approach is
predators cannot hide behind a false identify or the fact that
consistent with Attorney General Blumenthal’s announcing
they may not yet have been caught. We consider this
this Task Force: “My hope is that it will explore age and
approach similar to a seat belt in a car, protecting our users
identity technology available to social networking sites that
from the unknown.
can provide effective new protection for children. Age
Our focus groups show this is a “safety concept” that
verification tools -- crucial to better shielding kids from
parents say they can understand, even if they do not fully
predators and inappropriate content -- can and should be
understand social networks.
implemented by social networking sites as soon as
Users remain free to social network without restrictions;
possible.”[2]
however, they are not free to roam without consequence for

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their actions. Children can now simply check to see if
Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Mather remains an active
these friends have had their identity validated at Portcard,
advisor to the company.
which effectively removes the total anonymity of the
Revenue Sharing.
Internet predators are exploiting today.
Portcard complements the social networking sites by
Information Security and Platform.
providing a voluntary increased level of protection while
Portcard not only validates the identity of the person behind
generating revenue for them based on Portcard’s revenue
a username - Portcard securely stores that information in
sharing business model. By revenue sharing with the
the event there is a need to identify a particular Portcard
referring site, Portcard provides an economic incentive for
member to law enforcement. Children remain anonymous
them to recommend their users to Portcard for membership.
on the Internet while social networking, and the people
•
Technical attributes: features and functionality.
your children talk with cannot learn who you are from
As users participate on social networks, they converse with
Portcard.
“friends” that they may have never met, or that they think
A person’s information is stored on our servers located in
they know through several degrees of separation. Portcard
the United States. We treat data as an asset that must be
has developed a solution to this major security gap.
protected and use industry recognized tools (encryption,
Portcard members are able to “card” (referred to as
passwords, physical security, etc.) to protect personal
Portcarding) their new found friends, thereby verifying
information against unauthorized access and disclosure.
their status as a fellow Portcard member. In doing so, a user
Portcard is built on a Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 platform. It
may rest assured that Portcard has verified and stored their
takes advantage of the new Atlas module for AJAX
friend’s true identity.
(Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) compilation. AJAX
Portcard thus achieves two extremely useful ends: first, the
is a key element of the new Web 2.0 infrastructure, which
total anonymity exploited by predators on social networks
provides a user experience that is more interactive and
is removed; and second, the remedy does not take away the
richer than anything previously available.
inherent desire of presenting a unique or confidential
Portcard’s identity verification partner runs on the .NET
persona to other users. Our goal is to validate the identity of
platform as well. In particular, their system is written in
users while still allowing them to maintain whatever
VB.NET for business logic using SQL Server and direct
persona they please.
socket connections to their databases for data storage and
Children are in most need of protection, which is why
retrieval. Portcard communicates with their system through
Portcard is built to accommodate children of ALL ages. As
secure .NET Web Services.
part of the verification process, parents can choose to
Portcard is hosted on Windows Server 2003 running
register their entire family (up to four children) all under
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). Being
the same account.
integrated with this operating system allows for system-
•
Use cases.
level security, authentication, and firewall protection.
Portcard is partnered with Officer Steve DeWarns of
As for security, Portcard’s payment processing is done off-
Internet Child Safety, (www.internetchildsafety.net), and
site both through direct credit card payments and PayPal.
has contacted schools for permission to contact parents
Our identity verification partner also processes the
with a private company solution. St. Agnes School in
verification off-site.
Concord, CA was the first entirely “Portcarded” school
Registration is safe, secure, and private through the use of
with over three hundred students.
cryptography. The .NET platform, in conjunction with
Recently, the Lindbergh Middle School in Peoria, IL has
Microsoft SQL Server, provides several top-of-the-line
partnered with Portcard and registered 400 new users. We
encryption schemes that are in use industry-wide.
are currently pursuing additional school partners and hope
Portcard’s identity verification partner uses .NET Web
to have entire school districts Portcarded by the years’ end.
Services over HTTPS for integration, so Portcard’s
Portcard has had two private companies sign up as well.
connection with our partners is secure. The Portcard site is
They are ELM Industries in Peoria, IL and Treadwell &
secured with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology.
Rollo in San Francisco, CA.
Users are able to validate this security by clicking on the
Portcard is a national partner of the Boys and Girls Clubs
icon of a secure lock at the bottom of their browser. This
of America (BGCA). Currently, BGCA and Portcard are
gives users more assurance and peace of mind that their
working on registering schools that are affiliated with the
data is safe and not in the wrong hands. The certificate has
organization as well as partnering with individual agencies.
been contracted for from VeriSign.
•
Portcard’s effectiveness evaluation, measuring and
Tim Mather, Chief Security Analyst for RSA, validated the
testing.
security and the technical parameters of the business as our

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Portcard’s technology took a year to develop to allow for
•
Portcard’s reliance and use of law and policy for
seamless integration with the various social networks and
success.
instant messaging providers. The software was evaluated
Portcard is compliant with relevant US laws aimed at
and tested by the schools and companies who are
protecting children and others on the Internet, and furthers
“Portcarded” and the users who confirm whether other
this public policy by enabling Internet service providers
users are Portcarded. The ability to check if a person has
themselves to become involved. Portcard requires the
been validated, without leaving your Facebook page for
involvement of a parent when registering a minor.
example, is a very unique and proprietary technology.
•
Portcard’s viability in both the US and international
•
Strengths-weaknesses analysis.
context.
The idea of registration, especially a paid registration, has
Portcard technology is proven in the United States. The
traditionally had a chilling effect on social networks.
viability of Portcard internationally will depend on the
Portcard is a cross platform solution that leaves the social
company’s ability to verify identities outside the United
networking sites on equal footing as a person registers all
States.
of their social networking usernames with a single service.
By revenue sharing with the referring site, Portcard
•
Portcard’s effectiveness to date.
provides a strong economic incentive for them to forward
The hope at Portcard is never to use the technology and to
their users to Portcard for registration. Portcard also
date, we have not had to provide the identity of a registered
enables these sites to act instead of react to the increasingly
user to law enforcement. Portcard is designed to avoid the
important issue of Internet safety.
failures of not being able to catch predators who have not
•
Implementation requirements: hardware, software,
yet been convicted and registered in sex offender databases,
and end user aptitudes.
by requiring registration of everyone who is a member of
Portcard.
Portcard requires no software on an end-user’s computer.
They need only Internet access and the ability to go through
EXPERTISE
a paid registration process that costs less than $10 a year
Portcard’s technology was developed and is constantly
and takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
reviewed by the following team of industry specialists:
The registration process is a simple, three step process that
Paul Eric Loeb, the company’s co-founder, is a student in
minimizes sign up time while maximizing security. The
the Marshall School of Business at the University of
first step of the registration process requires an email
Southern California. He is a Systems Analyst for USC’s
address (used as a screen name) and an eight or more digit
Trojan Transportation where he is responsible for
alphanumeric password. After input of these categories, the
developing and maintaining the computer applications used
user inputs a set of personal information which is necessary
by students, faculty and staff.
for two reasons: (1) this information acts as a first layer of
Tim Mather as our Chief Operating Officer validated the
defense against identity theft or fraud; and (2) “location”
security and technical parameters of the business and
(the actual ability to verify an individual within our
remains an active advisor to the company even though he
database) percentages are much higher.
has accepted a new position as Chief Security Strategist for
The second layer of security comes with the third and final
RSA-The Security Division of EMC. He spent his prior 8
step of the registration process, adaptive authentication.
years with Symantec, Inc., where his titles included: Vice-
After “locating” the customer, a series of questions appear
President of Technology Strategy, (2006 – 2007): Vice-
in the browser. These questions range from “When is your
President & Chief Information Security Officer (2004 –
(family member’s name) birthday?” to “At which of these
2006); Senior Director of Information Security (2002 –
locations does (close acquaintance) live?” There are several
2004); and, Director of Information Security (1999 – 2002).
security measures in place to ensure the integrity of this
Prior to Symantec, he was with VeriSign, Inc. in similar
step. First, the questions are timed, preventing an imposter
capacities.
from researching certain questions. Second, there are
Bradford Taylor is currently Client Executive and IT
velocity checks that prevent a user from accessing this step
Consultant for MSI Systems Integrators, one of the largest
more than a set number of times per day, or set number of
technology services and systems integration firms in North
days per week.
America. Mr. Taylor runs the Northern California territory
•
Technical standards.
for MSI, consulting for Fortune 500 companies and Internet
startup ventures.
Portcard has spent a year developing proprietary software
that will interoperate with multiple social networks and
Kevin Ryan is San Francisco’s Criminal Justice Director.
instant messaging platforms. The supporting hardware, as
Judge Ryan was the former United States Attorney for the
explained herein, is based on applicable industry standards.
Northern District of California. As US Attorney his office
was committed to the Project Safe Child Initiative with
great success towards protecting our children.

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Professor David J. Franklyn is the Director of the
over one hundred million users, the revenue potential is
Intellectual Property Department, University of San
substantial. For smaller sites and organizations, we have
Francisco.
developed a Portcard Partner service. Portcard Partner is a
Arturo Perez-Reyes is a Lecturer at the Haas School of
simple registration process that can be applied for online.
Business, University of California, Berkeley.
After filling out a one page informational form, a Portcard
Partner is given full access to Portcard materials.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
For schools that cannot afford the service, we have begun
Two University of Southern California students founded
to work out sponsorships, such as corporate sponsorships,
Portcard. The company has assembled a group of industry
to cover the cost of membership.
leaders experienced in Internet-based applications, identity
verification, database management, and secure web
Portcard materials consist of digital presentations, sample
hosting, to provide Portcard’s identity verification solution.
emails, pamphlets, logos, link buttons, posters and an API
The founders, acting officers, and advisors currently run
for complete website integration. At the end of every month
Portcard.
a tally of registered users is compiled and revenue share
paid via check to the organization.
Lee C. Graves, CEO and President: Mr. Graves is the
founder of the ELM Group of Companies, a privately held
Portcard is also available as a completely integrated service
company headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, with revenues of
for social networks.
over $100M annually and over 1,500 employees.
MORE INFORMATION
Richard Proctor Doyle III, Founder: Mr. Doyle started
www.portcard.net, which includes a video demonstrating
Portcard as a marketing class project several years ago. Mr.
the registration process on the website. This video is also
Doyle is a senior in the Marshall School of Business at the
available at:
University of Southern California.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjNnylOpDIM
Paul Eric Loeb, Co-Founder: Mr. Loeb is also a student in
Portcard has also set up “taskforce08” so that you can go
the Marshall School of Business at the University of
through the Portcard registration and membership process
Southern California.
using a promotional code.
Bradford Taylor, CTO: Currently Client Executive and IT
CONTACT INFORMATION
Consultant for MSI Systems Integrators.
Richard “Ricky” Proctor Doyle, III
Rick Davenport, Vice President External Affairs: Mr.
Founder - ricky@portcard.net - 925.683.3449
Davenport is working full time in sales for the company.
Paul Eric Loeb
He is the principal contact with schools and potential
Co-Founder – paul@portcard.net - 213-924-0718
partners in California.
2540 Camino Diablo, Suite 220
Sanford Farkash, Director of Midwest Marketing: Mr.
Walnut Creek, CA. 94597
Farkash is working with the Peoria school system, Illinois
CERTIFICATION
lawmakers, the Bradley University student promotion team,
“I certify that I have read and agree to the terms of the
and various school officials.
Internet Safety Technical Task Force Intellectual Property
Portcard is privately funded and is a Delaware Corporation.
Policy.”
Portcard’s customer base includes the schools and
REFERENCES
businesses which are now “portcarded” and other persons
1. Press Release from Richard Blumenthal, Attorney
who have learned of Portcard.
General, State of Connecticut, Attorney General Calls
BUSINESS MODEL OVERVIEW
Latest MySpace Changes "Baby Steps" (June 21, 2006).
There is an annual membership fee, which is paid as part of
http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2341&Q=316948
the authentication process. The fee for this service is $9.95
2. Press Release from Richard Blumenthal, Attorney
for an individual or $14.95 for an entire family (up to four
General, State of Connecticut, CT, NC Attorneys General
individuals). Thus, after having purchased a computer,
Welcome Creation Of Task Force To Explore, Develop
software and an Internet provider at great cost, a parent can
Social Networking Age Verification Tools (Feb. 28 2008).
provide a safer experience on the Internet with Portcard for
http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2341&Q=410956
less that a dollar a month.
The business model of social networking sites is driven by

user volume. A ten percent revenue share is available for
all referring sites and organizations. With top sites having




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