IDEMIA, SpruceID, MATTR Among NIST NCCoE’s mDL Project Partners

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has established a collaborative research and development agreement (CRADA) with 15 technology providers and industry experts to launch the initial use case for its Mobile Driver’s License (mDL) project. This initiative seeks to integrate mDLs into financial services, ensuring they meet the requirements for customer identification programs.

The collaboration involves a diverse group of partners, including key organizations such as the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), California Department of Motor Vehicles, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and Wells Fargo. The project also features significant contributions from biometrics and digital identity companies like Idemia, MATTR Limited, iLabs, SpruceID, and the OpenID Foundation. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Bank, and Block, Inc. are participating.

This effort aims to accelerate the adoption of digital identity standards and best practices within the financial sector. The project will produce reference architectures, workflows, and implementation guides that address the cybersecurity, privacy, and usability challenges of integrating mDLs into financial services.

All organizations involved were selected after responding to a notice published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2023, inviting submissions that aligned with the desired characteristics of the mDL project. Once a sufficient number of letters of interest were received, the CRADAs were extended, and collaborative activities began, with a start date no earlier than September 28, 2023.

The project is structured into three main phases: Define, Assemble, and Build. In the Define phase, the scope of the work is determined in collaboration with industry stakeholders. The Assemble phase involves forming teams of industry, government, and academic participants. The final Build phase will focus on developing practical modules and prototypes to tackle the cybersecurity challenges associated with mDLs.

The NCCoE, a division of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), plays a central role in this collaboration. The center is dedicated to advancing cybersecurity solutions by working closely with industry, government, and academic partners to create practical, interoperable resources, such as reference architectures, guidelines, and best practices that can be widely implemented across various sectors.

Source: NIST NCCoE

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August 20, 2024 – by Ali Nassar-Smith