---
title: "IRI, CC, correlation, identity, and time"
chapter: "19"
---

# IRI, CC, correlation, identity, and time

IRI and CC must remain semantically correct and correlatable without creating an uncontrolled identity warehouse. Time, sequence, target identity, network identity, and case identity are distinct. Precision, clock quality, and uncertainty matter.

> **Safety boundary:** this chapter teaches lawful, governed system design from
> public standards. It does not provide operational targeting, activation,
> decryption, surveillance-evasion, or covert collection instructions.

## The mental model

| Concept | Plain meaning | Control that must travel with it |
|---|---|---|
| **IRI** | Authorized information about communication-related events | It may be as sensitive as content |
| **CC** | Authorized communication content | Access and retention are tightly limited |
| **Correlation identifier** | Links related objects within permitted scope | Opaque, unique, and bounded |
| **Target identifier** | A legally authorized identity or selector | Do not broaden through unapproved association |
| **Network/service identity** | Operational identifier used by a service | Association may change over time |
| **Trusted time** | Comparable timestamps with known quality | Record source, precision, and drift |

## Apply it as a controlled workflow

1. Classify every field by purpose, authority, sensitivity, and retention.
2. Define legal rules for identity association and disassociation.
3. Generate correlation identifiers that do not reveal target identity.
4. Use protected time sources and monitor drift.
5. Preserve sequence and uncertainty during transformation.
6. Reconcile gaps and duplicates without inspecting payload.

## Evidence to demand

- The data model distinguishes case, target, service, communication, and delivery identities.
- Clock quality is part of acceptance evidence.
- Correlation works across failover and retry without global reusable identifiers.
- Out-of-scope identity associations are rejected or quarantined.

## Failure to reason about

A dynamic IP address was assigned to one subscriber, then another. If time precision or session boundaries are wrong, material can be attributed to the wrong person. Correlation requires authoritative, time-bounded association—not an address alone.

## Feynman check

A name tag, room number, parcel number, and delivery receipt number are different. Mixing them can give the right parcel to the wrong person.