Remote Identity Proofing Methods and Analysis

The Internet and mobile technologies has brought on a rapid transition from doing business "in-person" to remote. Knowing the identity of the individual at this other end of the wire is at the very foundation of trust and security of this new world. Traditional methods to prove identity, such as driver's licenses, were designed for "in-person" use, not the digital economy. Instead, the Internet has turned to use Knowledge-Based Methods for remote identity-proofing, but the explosion of data breaches and the underground market selling Personally Identifiable Information (PII) has rendered that approach risky and weak. New methods and technologies are needed. Notably, there are new tools such as biometrics and sensor-laden smartphones just now gaining mass consumer deployment and acceptance, and also a critical-mass in membership of social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn which could form the basis of an answer to this problem. The goal from this Phase I research is to rigorously review five or more such new approaches to identity-proofing, specifically to determine for each the technical strengths and weaknesses (security, privacy, accuracy), and commercial feasibility (cost, time to market, consumer acceptance). The immediate benefit to the Department of Homeland Security will be as technical guidance document for any program which requires remote identity-proofing, but longer term the commercial potential for a commercial/government partnership is to redefine strong digital identity is mission critical in the future of the Internet.