The US's General Services Administration wants industry input on the development of a federated digital identity credential services business model, solution or procurement vehicle.The model, which would be used for the Connect.Gov program, must support third-party commercially available digital credentials, the GSA said in a Sources Sought notice."Connect.Gov provides federal agencies with the ability to accept a full range of accredited third-party commercially available digital credentials that allow the public to access agency online services, with greater security, privacy and efficiency," reads the notice."GSA envisions establishing a vibrant identity ecosystem where individual consumers can choose to use a third party-issued, government approved credential they already have and trust to access government sites and services."Interested companies have until 19 June to respond.On 31 March, The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced that it was seeking comment on electronic authentication with the aim of ensuring that the US government benefits from advances in the private marketplace in identity authentication.NIST's Computer Security Division has issued a "Note to Reviewers" to explore new ways to apply innovation within its special publication (SP) 800-63 on "Electronic Authentication Guidelines". "While SP 800-63 is required for federal agencies only, a potential future revision could benefit consumer-facing services the government offers, including Connect.gov and the private sector identity service providers that are intrinsic to the delivery of strong authentication to the government."
GSA studying federated digital identity credentials
