NIST publishes draft roadmap for identity and access management, seeks input

The worst thing about a U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology program is its sober and methodical nature. That is also the best attribute of any NIST effort.

Agency officials have released a draft of their multiple-year roadmap for NIST’s identity and access management (IAM) work. In releasing the planning draft for public comment, the officials are also asking readers of the draft for their opinions on its completeness and clear messaging.

But respondents need to be quick. The deadline is June 1.

The goals of the roadmap include getting all NIST IAM projects aligned with each other and with national, strategic objectives set by the White House, like the CHIPS and Science Act.

The agency also should share its focus areas and principles with stakeholders of every stripe. The principle run throughout the document: usability, equity, privacy, security, accessibility, individual choice and transparency.

Perhaps the most important goal, however, is delivering metrics, analysis and milestones that allow government and private-sector players to make long-term IAM plans.

Among the strategic objects that the draft suggests for NIST is accelerating adoption of mobile driver’s licenses and user-controlled digital credentials and mobile driver’s licenses.

One short-term goal in the draft is uncovering privacy and security considerations required for digital licenses. A long-term goal is creating draft guidance for using digital wallets and portable digital credentials.

NIST has also published a paper on its vision and strategy for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) mandated by the CHIPS Act. The NSTC is intended to build up America’s semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Of course, one of NIST’s more famous identification efforts is its ongoing ranking of facial recognition algorithms.

Article Topics

AI  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  identity access management (IAM)  |  NIST  |  standards