In Absence of National Standards, Playbook Provides State and Local Leaders Specific Recommendations and Best Practices for Building and Maintaining Effective Digital Identity Programs

Socure, the leading provider of digital identity (ID) verification and fraud solutions, today released a guide for state and local Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to establish effective digital ID programs for their constituents.

During the pandemic, the Federal Trade Commission noted a 2,920% increase in identity theft reports related to government benefits. To address this growing threat, the federal government invested a historic $1 billion to build digital identity infrastructure under the American Rescue Plan Act. The playbook outlines the pressing need for secure digital ID for online benefits and services and the best practices for building an effective digital ID strategy. It also highlights state-level use cases of successful programs currently in operation.

“As state and local governments continue to digitize more constituent services, the importance of digital identity verification programs has never been greater,” said Matt Thompson, Senior VP and General Manager of Public Sector Solutions for Socure. “We are proud to offer this resource to support the efforts of CIOs, CTOs and CISOs to build more innovative digital ID programs that minimize fraud while accurately and equitably verifying constituent identities online so they can access the benefits and services they deserve.”

Key Characteristics & Building Blocks of Digital Identity

“Digital Identity 101: A Playbook for State and Local CIOs” highlights the characteristics of an ideal public sector digital identity program. Each state and local government program should be:

• Inclusive: The data sources used by agencies and ID verification providers should capture as broad a range of people as possible to ensure equitable verification and access outcomes.
• Insightful: Programs should provide constant insight into who accesses the system and how much risk surrounds their activity.
• Frictionless But Secure: A secure, seamless user experience across a single service or system of services online, in-person, and by phone is what constituents want and need.
• Privacy-Focused: User consent should always be established before data collection along with an explanation of why that information is needed and how it will be used.
• Fraud Responsive: Effective digital ID verification flags -in real-time- when a digital identity might be under attack.
• Tested, Proven: State and local agencies should prioritize including digital ID verification solutions that offer performance-based testing and measurement.

Going one step further, the guide identifies eight foundational building blocks of a successful digital ID program.

1. User Onboarding: The initial phase when you collect a constituent’s information, such as biographic and biometric data, to begin the enrollment or account opening process. Also known as identity verification, this is the first, most important step to providing an inclusive experience to constituents.
2. Progressive Profiling: The gradual collection of more information about a user as they engage with a website or application, which helps build a robust user profile and is critical in establishing behavioral patterns for risk and fraud.
3. Authentication: How an agency verifies a user’s identity to grant access to systems or applications. Can involve passwords, PINs, biometric data, digital certificates, etc.
4. Single Sign-On: An authentication method that allows a user to login into multiple applications with a single ID which enables agencies to strike the right balance between security and a frictionless user experience.
5. User Profile Management: The process by which an agency manages a collection of user-profiles and oversees each user’s specific permissions and access privileges for a given system or application. This component involves the complete life cycle of an identity record and is key to identifying potential risk or fraud.
6. Fraud Detection: Leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning-based models to identify behavioral patterns and detect anomalies that could indicate compromised identity or risk of fraud.
7. Consent and privacy management: The process by which an agency allows users to understand or determine what personal information they share and for what purpose.
8. Omnichannel support: Integrated customer service across multiple channels, including in-person, online systems, or phone is a must to minimize friction.

Produced in partnership with Government Technology, the guide also includes use cases of successful digital ID programs currently deployed in California, Florida, and Ohio, along with recommended best practices for state and local CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs.

About Socure

Socure is the leading platform for digital identity verification and trust. Its predictive analytics platform applies artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques with trusted online/offline data intelligence from physical government-issued documents as well as email, phone, address, IP, device, velocity, date of birth, SSN, and the broader internet to verify identities in real-time. The company has more than 1,500 customers across the financial services, government, gaming, healthcare, telecom, and e-commerce industries, including four of the top five banks, 13 of the top 15 card issuers, the top three MSBs, the top payroll provider, the top credit bureau, the top online gaming operator, the top Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) providers, and over 400 of the largest fintechs. Marquee customers include Chime, SoFi, Robinhood, Gusto, Public, Poshmark, Stash, DraftKings, the State of California, and Florida's Homeowner Assistance Fund. Socure customers have become investors in the company including Citi Ventures, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, Capital One Ventures, MVB Bank, and Synchrony. Additional investors include Accel, T. Rowe Price, Bain Capital Ventures, Tiger Global, Commerce Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Sorenson, Flint Capital, Two Sigma Ventures, and others.

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