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Kantara and IDESG Sign Digital Identity Assessment MOU To Better Protect Consumer Online Identities

Leading Digital Identity Consortia Aim for Higher Adoption Rates for Assessment Programs

WAKEFIELD, Mass., USA – January 31, 2018 – Signaling a shift in the personal identity market toward uniting around a more complementary approach to identity assessment and Trust Marks two of the leading personal digital identity and privacy industry associations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today with the aim of increasing the rate of adoption for IDESG’s Identity Ecosystem Framework Registry to encourage the digital economy to greater protection of online identities.

The MOU allows approved and trust marked Kantara Initiative identity Credential Service Providers (CSP) and Component Providers to be ‘pre-checked’ into the Identity Ecosystem Steering Group's (IDESG) Identity Ecosystem Framework (IDEF) Registry Program, where assessment criteria are common to both schemes. Pre-approval of such joint criteria is expected to cut time and compliance effort for Kantara-approved providers self-attesting into the IDESG Registry by nearly two-thirds while also delivering increased visibility.

"It is a sign of a maturing identity ecosystem, where evidence based trust between schemes can be leveraged in a very practical way to deliver outcomes of mutual benefit to the stakeholders," said Colin Wallis, executive director, Kantara Initiative. "IDESG wants to increase its adoption rate and Kantara wants to return more value to its approved Service Providers. To drive up the velocity of the digital economy and protect more personal identities, Trust Framework operators need to collaborate. Kantara and IDESG continue to operationalize the liaison that they founded in IDESG’s formative years to become pivotal consortia in the United States digital identity marketplace."

Kantara Initiative is the leading global consortium improving trustworthy use of identity and personal data through innovation, standardization and good practice. IDESG is an independent, non-profit organization comprising representatives from the United States’ federal and state governments and private sectors dedicated to creating the future of trusted digital identities. "

Registry and assessment are key foundational elements of a growing,healthy and secure online identity ecosystem," said Mark DiFraia IDESG’s President. "Our agreement with Kantara is a demonstration of our commitment to bring our core principles into the identity community. This effort improves our ability to drive an identity ecosystem that is (1) Secure/Resilient, (2) Privacy Enhancing, (3) Cost Effective/Easy to Use and (4) is interoperable. "

About The Kantara/IDESG Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
The Kantara/IDESG MOU follows a formal liaison agreement signed between the two organizations last year. IDESG mapped the IDEF Baseline Requirements to Kantara's Identity Assurance

Framework Service Assessment Criteria. This means third-party-assessed, Kantaraapproved CSPs and Component providers comply to the majority of the baseline requirements of the IDEF. According to the MOU, each organization agrees to promote the collaboration and its benefits to each other's membership; make regular updates and improvements to the process and advance the collaboration to other activities currently outside the scope of the MOU.

About Kantara Initiative
Kantara Initiative provides real-world innovation and development of specifications and conformity assessment programs for the digital identity and personal data ecosystems. Beyond its flagship eID-assisting Identity Assurance Trust Framework, developing initiatives including Identity Relationship Management, User Managed Access (EIC Award Winner for Innovation in Information Security 2014), Identities of Things, and the Consent Receipt, Kantara Initiative connects a global, open, and transparent leadership community, including CA Technologies, digi.me, Experian, ForgeRock, Internet Society, Nomura Research Institute, and SecureKey Technologies. More information is available at https://kantarainitiative.org/
Follow Kantara Initiative on Twitter -- @KantaraNews About the Identity Ecosystem Steering Group (IDESG)

IDESG is a voluntary, public-private partnership dedicated to developing an Identity Ecosystem Framework (IDEF) and services to better online digital identity. The IDESG looks to advance the Identity Ecosystem called for in the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). The NSTIC, signed by President Obama in 2011, envisions the identity ecosystem as an online environment where individuals and organizations will be able to trust each other because they follow agreed-upon standards and policies to obtain and authenticate their digital identities. Come see how IDESG is making this happen by joining us in the effort and taking advantage of our services at IDESG.org.

For more information on the Identity Ecosystem Framework Registry, visit IDEFRegistry.org.

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This press release was prepared by the Identity Ecosystem Steering Group, Inc. using Federal funds under award 70NANB14H215 from the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NIST, NSTIC, or the U.S. Department of Commerce.