DHS digital credential wallet program announces first six contracts

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has selected six firms to develop digital credential wallets, with contracts awarded through its Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP).

A release names Credence ID, Hushmesh, Netis d.o.o., Procivis, SpruceID, and Ubiqu as winners of contracts to develop digital wallet frameworks that “protect the privacy of individuals using digital versions of credentials issued for immigration and travel.” Each firm is eligible for up to $1.7 million in funding across four phases of SVIP.

Their wallets must be capable of supporting a broad range of digital credentials compatible with open standards such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Verifiable Credential Data Model (VCDM) and W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DID). They are to be portable, interoperable, highly secure, multi-functional and should preserve user privacy.

“DHS is the authoritative source of some of the most highly valued credentials issued by the U.S. federal government for cross-border travel, demonstrating employment eligibility, residency status and citizenship,” says Anil John, technical director of SVIP for S&T. “The capabilities developed under this solicitation will ensure that those credentials can be stored securely and verified properly while preserving the privacy of individuals using openly developed standards that are globally acceptable, highly secure and accessible to all.”

For this first round, identity verification provider Credence ID, based in Oakland, California, receives $199,140 to adapt existing hardware and software credential verifier implementations to support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards.

Procivis, the Orell Füssli offshoot from Zurich, Switzerland, receives $187,285 to enhance its Procivis One digital credential platform to better support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards in digital wallets and verifiers.

New York firm SpruceID receives $199,960 to enhance its digital wallet and verifier capabilities to better support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards for enterprise and public sector environments.

Hushmesh, based in Falls Church, Virginia, receives $199,430 to integrate standards into its cryptographic security and universal zero trust product, the Mesh, which it calls “the new Web”.

Netis d.o.o., based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, gets $198,849 to enhance its MIDVA fleet management and ID verification platform to support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards.

Finally, Ubiqu, based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, gets $197,961 to integrate its Remote Secure Element (RSE) technology with digital wallets supporting W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards.

DHS issued its Privacy Preserving Digital Credential Wallets & Verifiers solicitation in June 2023.

Article Topics

Credence ID  |  decentralized identifiers (DIDs)  |  DHS  |  digital identity  |  digital wallets  |  Hushmesh  |  Netis  |  Procivis  |  SpruceID  |  Ubiqu  |  verifiable credentials