New York State called out for fuzziness added to ID proofing regs

Remote online notarization is not the topic the biometric ID community would expect to generate much heat in 2023, but it has.

RON is the process and rules involved with getting something notarized remotely. It saves time and money and has engendered little if any controversy over the years it has been around.

One primary aspect to remote notarization is identity proofing, and that aspect could be changing in a way that it could be less secure.

The Kantara Initiative, standards-focused ID trade association, has posted a strongly worded letter from digital ID advisor and former Kantara board member Michael Magrath that can only be described as breathless with disbelief. Magrath is also the directory of identity policy and industry relations for Easy Dynamics Corporation.

The core of his argument with the New York Department of State amended its RON regulations giving vendors wiggle room when it comes to NIST’s identity assurance (ID proofing) level 2 standard. He says that that standard is tested and accepted, but it could be up for competition with recent changed.

Vendors commonly meet IAL2 by getting a government-issued ID scan and a selfie for biometric comparison.

Now, businesses can follow IAL2 or “any industry accepted standard that is at least as secure, or more secure, than that standard,” according to Magrath.

His quoted (and quotable) response: “Huh?!!”

The new option is ambiguous. Shouldn’t New York say that alternative has to be as good or better – as certified by a body of some repute? The new standard could be so different compared to IAL2 that security problems will emerge through the fault of the department of state.

It places a heavy load of liability on relying parties when most could use less.

There are other related changes likely in New York on the way, too, he says.

It is a fair question why a financial regulatory body in the state of New York, of all locations, seems to be opting for fuzziness.

Article Topics

IAL2  |  identity assurance  |  identity verification  |  Kantara  |  New York  |  regulation  |  selfie biometrics