Industry Coalition’s Plea To White House For Enhanced Digital Identities

The Group seeks extended federal initiatives on Digital Identity beyond National Cybersecurity Strategy (March 2023)

Industry Coalition Group sent a letter to the White House praising the previous initiatives but also requested them to go one step further here on Monday.

The group highlighted that nearly 300 million Americans have been victimized by identity theft in 2021 which it referred to as Pandemic Anti-Fraud Proposal 2023. Now, to ensure direct assistance to the victims of identity fraud, extended efforts are required on a government level.

Key Issue:

The Coalition pointed out the key issue as Identity itself acts as a gateway or a loophole where fraudsters penetrate. Not only this but fraudsters also falsely profit from most of identity theft attacks.

To break it down further, “initial attack vector” refers to how attackers gain access to a system or network. Identity is often the starting point for these attacks, as hackers use stolen or fake identities to breach security measures.

Proposed Agenda

So, to resolve this problem, the group proposed a three-point agenda in this letter for setting priorities to mitigate the identity theft threat and make Digital Identities more secure. Here is a brief outline of the three-point agenda:

1. Launching a White House Task Force to speed up the cybercrime system and protect Identities on a next level
   • The Task Force will have key duties including developing a plan of action for the Federal State, managing funds & restrictions, complying with standards & practices, and finding new ways to enhance digital identity solutions.
2. The emphasis of NIST’s work on identity validation services focuses on creating a standardized Digital Identity Framework to help government agencies in establishing a secure, private, and equitable digital identity service.
   • The CHIPS and Science Act mandated NIST to guide government agencies at all levels on identity and attribute validation services, broadening their work in digital identity.
   • The coalition urges the White House to proactively ensure privacy, security, civil liberties, equity, accessibility, and interoperability in the implementation of mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) as a powerful tool against identity theft.
3. Focusing on increasing cost efficiency while documenting investments in digital identity infrastructure
   • Referring to Joe Biden’s quote in 2023, the expenditure on fighting fraud will support the overall financial circle of the USA.

The coalition group is committed and has also offered its assistance to the White House for the implementation of this agenda. It is evident that digital identities require more efforts to protect the American public and enhanced ways should be adapted in securing the financial system for US citizens.