How credential service providers can modernize online government services

By Christine Owen, Field CTO for 1Kosmos

At the heart of modern government is the concept of ready and equitable access. Today, citizens expect efficient, transparent, and highly accessible services. They want to complete tasks quickly and securely.

However, state and local governments that operate with a tangle of legacy systems and software face growing challenges. This makes it more difficult to build out integrated online services that allow access from different devices, and to create solutions that are easy to use for individuals with varying degrees of digital proficiency.

A path to transformation

As onsite servers give way to multi-cloud environments delivering remote services that require more advanced identity management and authentication methods, there’s a fundamental need to rethink and rewire access. Those that overlook this task are forced to deal with identity and authorizations on a piecemeal basis. They burn through time, money and staff resources managing a platform that underdelivers and presents security loopholes.

A better way forward is to break down silos and avoid systems and data strung together with an array of identity products and security tools. This patchwork of technologies often prevents citizens from quickly performing various tasks—whether it’s obtaining a license or paying a tax bill—without putting data at risk.

The answer lies in a Credential Service Provider (CSP), which is defined as a trusted entity that issues security tokens or electronic credentials to users that governments can trust. A CSP verifies a user’s identity and issues a strong multifactor credential, such as a phishing-resistant passkey.

A CSP provides several important benefits:

Offloads identity management from the government. CSPs handle user onboarding, identity proofing via biometrics and document verification, and trusted credential creation and certification. This eliminates the need for government agencies to deploy and manage the infrastructure needed to create new user credentials for every resident and maintain them. Instead, government service providers can focus on authentication and authorization workflows.

Issues strong credentials. With secure phishing-resistant digital credentials replacing antiquated passwords, a CSP can serve as a gatekeeper and permit only authorized users to access specific resources, applications and data. The result is diminished risk of unauthorized logins and data breaches

Simplifies logins. A CSP eliminates the need for passwords and logins for different systems and platforms. There’s a single set of credentials that work with single sign-on. This greatly improves the user experience, but it also reduces the risk of lost or stolen passwords. No less important: it bakes in better security.

Centralizes credential management. With a CSP, all identity data is stored in a single place—abstracted from the idiosyncrasies of individual systems. This streamlines identity management and access control, thus freeing IT resources for other tasks.

To be sure, a CSP is at the center of modern digital government services. It simplifies data sharing and strengthens security controls, while making it possible to better integrate services, create more efficient processes and workflows, and ensure that only the right people have access to sensitive data.

Boosting protection is critical

Make no mistake, a CSP offers a path to progress for governments seeking to improve digital services. It handles identity proofing and credential management while tightening access controls for various services. Getting to a best practice approach revolves around three key areas:

Focus on access. Create multiple secure pathways to remote IAL2 vetting to include as much of the population as possible and incorporate phishing-resistant, easy to use options such as biometrics and passkeys. Improving the user experience translates directly to higher adoption rates. This helps agencies improve customer satisfaction and reduce help desk costs for password resets.

Dial up security and trust. Adopt advanced security protocols and stringent privacy measures utilizing NIST guidelines. Give users control over their data (through user consent prompts) to maximize data protection and establish greater trust.

Design for everyone. Focus on developing digital services that are accessible and equitable. Aim to include all citizens and address diverse needs, so that everyone benefits equally. With a CSP, the task is simpler because the focus is on functionality and security rather than addressing myriad technical issues on a daily basis.

Using a CSP enables a more comprehensive approach to identity management by improving usability and adoption. It also lowers costs and establishes a framework that’s better suited to today’s fast-changing requirements for delivering digital citizen services. Most importantly, a CSP makes government services more widely available while simultaneously ratcheting up security.

About the author

Christine Owen is Field CTO for 1Kosmos and an expert in identity management with a deep background in both policy creation and operational procedures, government rules and regulations, and cybersecurity best practices. She previously served as a Director with Guidehouse, a global technology and risk consulting services provider to the public sector, where she developed and managed cybersecurity, zero trust and IAM projects.

Article Topics

1Kosmos  |  credential service provider  |  digital ID  |  government services  |  identity management