Washington, D.C. — March 3, 2010 — Open Identity Exchange (OIX), oixuk.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting an Internet-scale trust ecosystem, announced today it will commence work on an open government pilot under the requirements set forth by the ICAM Trust Framework Adoption Process (TFAP) established by U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will serve as lead agency using open identity technologies to support a number of services, including customized library searches, access to training resources, registration for conferences, and use of medical research wikis, with strong privacy protections, all designed to ensure accessible and transparent communication between the government agency and U.S. citizens.

OIX has been certified by the GSA as a Trust Framework Provider. This permits the OIX to issue certifications to Identity Providers who choose assessors and certification models, including the audited self-certification model championed by the OpenID Foundation. As lead government agency, the NIH is ready to move into production status with OpenID credentials for existing, pilot-status and future applications using NIH Login (now known as iTrust/NIH).

The NIH has played a critical role pioneering the use of open identity standards for open government,” said Don Thibeau, chair of the OIX. “We want to acknowledge the critical role the agency has played as a pioneer in the government’s use of open identity standards. The impact of the NIH iTrust pilots is reflected not only in the formation of Open Identity Exchange in the marketplace but also in the groundbreaking leadership NIH has demonstrated in new public sector applications.
This pilot supports and illustrates the value of the President’s open government initiative. We believe deeply in using electronic identity technologies to enable communication between government entities and citizens,” said Dr. Peter Alterman, Senior Advisor to the NIH Chief Information Officer for Strategic Initiatives. “By doing so, we are sending a strong message to citizens that we care deeply about their security and privacy.

 

About Open Identity Exchange:
Open Identity Exchange (OIX) is a neutral, non-profit, multi-channel provider of certification trust frameworks for open identity technologies. OIX was founded by grants from the OpenID and Information Card Foundations and support from companies including Google, PayPal, Equifax, VeriSign, Verizon, CA, and Booz Allen Hamilton.