Pages

23 June 2019

DATA PROTECTION: Federal Agencies Need to Strengthen Online Identity Verification Processes


The federal government relies on commercial credit agencies to help verify the identities of people who apply for benefits online—such as asking personal questions from credit files. However, the 2017 Equifax data breach has raised questions about this practice.

There are alternative methods to verify identity, such as comparing a photo of an ID card captured on a cell phone to documentation on file, but federal agencies have had issues with implementing them. For instance, not all applicants have cell phones.

We recommended that the National Institute of Standards and Technology provide guidance on implementing these alternative methods.

No comments:

Post a Comment