Anonymity and closely related terms in the cyberspace: An analysis by example

Anonymity is generally conceived to be an integral part of user’s right to privacy. Without anonymity, many online activities would become prone to eavesdropping, making them potentially risky to use. This work highlights on the different aspects closely related to anonymity and argues that it is rather a multifaceted and contextual concept. To support this argumentation, the paper examines as a dual case study the ways anonymity is conceptualised in the case of two well-established but dissimilar protocols employed in the cyberspace on a wide-scale; that is, SIP and Kerberos ones. By surveying the research done for preserving anonymity (and privacy in general) in the context of the aforementioned protocols several useful observations emerge. Our aim is to contribute towards acquiring a comprehensive view of this particular research area, mainly by examining how anonymity is put to work in practice. As a result, the work at hand can also be used as a reference for anyone interested in grasping the diverse facets of this constantly developing research field. a 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.