Federal agencies have agreed, in a rare partnership, to use authoritative government data in passports for identity verification through its sign-in service, One Login.
Capturing the biographical data page of their passport, Login.gov will compare it against existing passport records via a privacy-preserving application programming interface. It is a milestone for the federal government’s digital service ecosystem, with the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs marrying up their services to reinforce remote identity proofing processes.
Deputy Secretary of State for Management and GSA Acting Administrator Michael Rigas said, “Login.gov is at the forefront of the Administration’s efforts to create efficiencies and combat fraud, and initiatives like this are a great example of doing both”.
The combination of using passports-as-evidence with the best-in-class vendor technologies secures identity verification for public access and erects a defence against the bad actors.
“We are committed to protecting the public’s access to government services.” The initiative is to expand passports in the identity verification process in a phased rollout, benefiting those without an alternative form of identification. The Department of State has issued a record number of 24.5 million U.S. passports in the last year.
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