DHS S&T earmarks $1.7M to build W3C standards into digital wallets

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is making $1.7 million available for participants in contracts to develop and adapt digital wallets for security checks.

DHS revealed further details on the digital wallets’ solicitation being run by its Science & Technology Directorate in an announcement for the “Privacy Preserving Digital Credential Wallets & Verifiers” SVIP Topic Call.

As described in the application posting, DHS S&T is looking for digital wallets that can support the broad range of credentials compatible with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Verifiable Credential Data Model (VCDM) and W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DID) standards. They should be portable and based on standards and interoperable, highly secure, multi-functional, and should preserve user privacy, according to the new announcement. The agency is also after software-based verifier implementations for mobile devices running iOS and Android, likewise supporting W3C standards and supporting DHS credentials.

“Preserving the privacy of individuals as they use digital wallets to store their credentials is deeply important in ensuring the secure, confidential nature of their digital interactions in an increasingly interconnected world,” says Melissa Oh, SVIP managing director, in the announcement.

DHS Chief Privacy Officer Mason Clutter says the investment in “building blocks” for privacy preserving digital credentials demonstrates the department’s commitment to privacy and can be a model for others.

An industry day will be held on August 18, and applications for the solicitation are due on September 15, 2023.

Article Topics

data privacy  |  DHS  |  DHS S&T  |  digital identity  |  digital wallets  |  standards  |  W3C  |  W3C standards