BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SecureKey Technologies, a leading provider of identity and authentication solutions for simplifying consumer access to online applications, today announced the launch of its SecureKey Concierge service in the United States. The industry-proven solution is being offered to online service providers in state and local government, healthcare, financial services and other markets where consumer privacy, high assurance authentication and ID verification are required.
By allowing consumers to choose a trusted credential they already have and use frequently, SecureKey Concierge eliminates the need for additional usernames and passwords. The service builds on the company’s white-label FedRAMP certified Connect.Gov service sponsored by GSA, USPS and NIST, and on its SecureKey Concierge Service in Canada, which has experienced a doubling of user credentials in each of the past two years. The service operates on SecureKey’s industry-leading briidge.net Exchange™ Platform, the market leading multi-tenant federated authentication and identity platform.
“SecureKey’s consumer-oriented ID network enables stronger digital identities, eliminating many of the challenges currently associated with accessing online services,” said Dominic Venturo, EVP and Chief Innovation Officer at U.S. Bank. “We look forward to collaborating with SecureKey to grow this ecosystem of trusted credentials for the benefit of our customers nationwide.”
“The providers of online credentials of all security levels, and their respective customers, benefit from the service SecureKey brings to its customers,” said Mark DiFraia, Senior Director of Market Development at MorphoTrust USA, and Board Member of IDESG and UT’s Center for Identity. “Their solution provides a pathway for acceptance that would ordinarily be difficult to achieve. A consolidated means for any online players to accept the trusted credentials that individuals already have makes the adoption of NSTIC principles and the promise of a more secure online experience a reality.”
SecureKey is engaging with U.S. identity partners and technology partners to increase the breadth of its SecureKey Concierge Service, leveraging secure, in-market credentials issued and managed by banks, telecommunications companies, government agencies and other organizations. Coupled with user-centric privacy protection to prevent tracking of consumer data and online activities, the SecureKey Concierge service promotes increased use of web-based services by allowing consumers to securely and confidently conduct transactions online.
“As online fraud and security breaches increase, SecureKey Concierge is driving a new era of convenience, security and privacy, translating into peace of mind for consumers using the web for critical applications and services,” said Charles Walton, CEO of SecureKey. “The U.S. launch is part of SecureKey’s commitment to expanding our ecosystem of trusted partnerships and online service provider communities to dramatically simplify the account opening process for increased customer acquisition, while facilitating greater efficiency in credential management.”
SecureKey Concierge Services for the U.S. Market:
- Federated Authentication Service: Enables consumers to use their choice of credential from an Identity Partner in the SecureKey Concierge network to log into online service provider sites. For enhanced privacy, the service includes a privacy guard that ensures consumer online activity is not visible to the Identity Partners, and personal attributes (name, address, date of birth and more) are never shared without explicit consent. The service offers tiered levels of assurance to support a range of low assurance social ID credentials to high assurance, smart card-based digital IDs, based on the specific online application requirements.
- Identity Verification Service: Allows online service providers to verify user identity data, such as social security number, date of birth, age, zip code and other information bound to a user’s credential. A “tokenization” process maintains the privacy of the consumer’s data, and consumer consent is always required at initiation of the identity verification process.
“The SecureKey Concierge service is a natural extension of BMO’s offering with SecureKey in Canada to provide customers with a secure and trusted way to access application services online, and we applaud SecureKey in their efforts to bring this industry-proven online authentication solution to the U.S. market,” said Marlene Lenarduzzi, Vice President Fraud Management and Enterprise Authentication, BMO Financial Group.
“SecureKey extending its Concierge service into the U.S. market will have a positive impact on the identity ecosystem by establishing a practical and proven benchmark for federated identity and authentication solutions,” said Don Thibeau, Chairman of the Open Identity Exchange. “SecureKey joins other industry leaders in leveraging OIXnet, a technology agnostic, general purpose registry, by registering its Concierge trust framework to ensure interoperability and trust among counter-parties.”
“The Kantara Initiative is excited to see Kantara Board Member SecureKey launch a privacy-enhancing consumer ID network service in the U.S., following its successful deployment in Canada,” said Joni Brennan, Executive Director at Kantara Initiative. “The need for private and secure consumer transactions based on a federated authentication model is critical to address for trust and innovation market growth in healthcare and other regulated markets.”
Availability
The SecureKey Concierge service is available
now for customer proof-of-concept operations and identity partner
integration in the U.S. For more information, visit www.skconcierge.us.
About SecureKey Technologies
SecureKey is a leading identity
and authentication provider that simplifies consumer access to online
services and applications. The privacy-enhancing SecureKey Concierge
Service™ is a next generation identity and authentication network for
conveniently connecting people to critical online services using a
digital credential they already have and trust. SecureKey is
headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and
San Francisco. The company is backed by a world-class group of venture
and corporate investors that include strategic investments from Visa,
MasterCard, Discover, Rogers Venture Partners, and Intel Capital.
