Identity and Access Forum Announces Steering Committee, Unveils Plans for Advancing Secure Identity, Trust Frameworks, Applied Technology and More

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Identity and Access Forum, an affiliated group within the Secure Technology Alliance, is proud to announce the appointment of its very first Steering Committee. The move is a crucial step in the Forum’s mission to advance innovation and foster the adoption of emerging technologies across several markets, including identity and access management, trust frameworks, identity assurance, digital Identity and physical access control.

The new Steering Committee serves as a leadership organization within the Forum, essential in guiding the success of its various working committee projects and deliverables. Some of the Forum’s activities include identifying and providing guidance on industry pain points, developing best practices for the implementation of secure technologies, providing industry education and creating deliverables such as white papers and webinars. 

The following Secure Technology Alliance members have been elected as Steering Committee officers:

• Chair: Teresa Wu, IDEMIA
• Vice Chair: Rajan Barbara, Entrust
• Secretary: Sruti Jain, Consult Hyperion
• Treasurer: Jatin Deshpande, Giesecke+Devrient

The full 2024 Identity and Access Forum Steering Committee is as follows:

“Collaboration is truly at the heart of everything we do. Under the leadership of this diverse group of Steering Committee members, we empower the identity and access market to embrace future-focused technology and initiatives by ensuring that every key stakeholder has a seat at the table,” said Sandy Mayfield, managing director of the Identity and Access Forum. “Through their dedication and leadership, the Forum can analyze industry challenges from every angle and develop educational tools and guidance that will make the entire secure identity ecosystem more agile. We are grateful to our Steering Committee members and officers for their commitment to the industry.” 

Forum priorities –

The Identity and Access Forum has been making great strides since its formation in 2022. To date, there are seven active working committees within the group: trust frameworks and ecosystems; identity access management; identity assurance; digital IDs; physical access control; communication and education; and applied technologies and vertical markets.

Based on industry trends, the following topics are key areas of focus for those committees:

• Digital IDs – accelerating identity-related efforts leveraging privacy and security-enhancing software and hardware solutions. Raising awareness on credential acceptance, issuance, mobile IDs (including Mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) and lifecycle management.
• Applied technologies – advancements in AI, internet of things (IoT), biometrics, kiosks, cryptography and various other interactive infrastructures and systems.
• Identity assurance -- supporting requirements for public and private sector implementation of digital identity services, proofing/enrollment, user authentication and federation and credential protection.
• Trust frameworks and ecosystems – analyzing various trust frameworks’ relevance and ability to evolve to address new markets with a specific focus on policy guidelines, interoperability/inter-framework, liability assignment, privacy and redress.
• Physical access control -- accelerating the widespread acceptance and application of secure technologies in various physical and digital form factors for physical and logical access control, including entry points/checkpoints and visitor management.
• Communications and education -- supporting Forum committees’ activities and content development through the IAF and MDLConnection websites, online and in-person webinars, conferences/workshops and training and certification programs.
• Identity and access management – promoting frameworks and technologies that not only identify, authenticate, and control access for individuals who will be utilizing IT resources, but also the hardware and applications employees need in government, commercial and enterprise settings.
  

Organizations, associations, government agencies and individuals interested in participating in upcoming Forum projects can visit the Secure Technology Alliance’s website to learn how to become a member. By joining the Secure Technology Alliance, members will have access to activities within the Identity and Access Forum and additional Alliance-affiliated organizations.

About the Identity and Access Forum
The Identity and Access Forum is a cooperative, cross-industry body dedicated to advancing the adoption and development of secure identification including physical and logical access. Through the collaborative efforts of a diverse group of stakeholders and the publication of educational resources, the Forum advocates for market adoption of trusted, user-centric and interoperable digital identities to ensure safe and seamless access to services across all interactions. Areas of focus are identity credentials such as mobile drivers’ licenses and IDs for provisioning, IoT security and access control, among others. The organization operates within the Secure Technology Alliance, an association that encompasses all aspects of secure digital technologies. 

About the Secure Technology Alliance      
The Secure Technology Alliance is the digital security industry’s premier association. Through its U.S. Payments Forum, Identity and Access Forum and its collaborative working groups, the Alliance fosters open dialogue among industry stakeholders to explore and develop secure technology innovations in the payments, identity and access markets. By collaborating on education and guidance, the Alliance helps enable efficient, timely and effective implementation of large-scale, disruptive technologies. For more information, please visit https://www.securetechalliance.org.    

Contact      
Sherlyn Rijos-Altman    
Montner Tech PR      
203-226-9290      
srijos@montner.com