IDENTIFY VS VERIFY
The need to identify is critical. We need to know our customers, patients, employees, applicants for identification cards, government benefit recipients and visitors to the United States.
We are trying to solve 21st Century problems with 19th Century solutions. Enrollment in most identity databases is based upon the presentation of paper documents such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers or passports. These primary documents are not linked to the individual presenting them, and are therefore easily stolen or forged. Document mills thrive and will continue to do so within this structure. Identity databases are neither portable and in many cases not interoperable, unlike the movement of our citizens’ identities through transportation, banking and medical systems. Compounding the problem, the developers of identity systems continue to confuse identification, verification, and authentication in terms of the crucial role each plays, creating weak links that are easily exploited in a complex and digital modern society.
For example, when an individual applies for a driver’s license or ID card, they are asked to provide documents to prove their identity. The person might produce a birth certificate along with a couple of pieces of mail for proof of residence. Before they leave the building, the individual is issued a license that gives them the right to drive a vehicle.
The driver’s license or ID card is then used throughout life to prove identity and obtain additional credentials such as a passport or to open bank accounts or receive medical care, etc.
Many would describe the process above as identification. However, the scenario is based on a set of documents that may or may not be authentic. Presenting paper documents is actually the process of verification. Verification is something you have (a document) that is matched with a unique identity. Verification is what most entities do, even though they classify it as “identification.” While the document might have the same name, it does not ensure that the person presenting the document actually is who they say they are. With more than 14,000 different types of birth certificates used throughout the United States, an individual could easily falsify or replicate one. The only way to truly identify a person is by establishing a unique identity.
The PID is a 21st Century Solution that solves the identification issue.
The PID is an identification card that sets a higher standard for national security by incorporating biometric identification and third-party validation. It is a low-cost, multi-purpose identification solution that is easy to implement and offered on an opt-out basis.
If States leave the driver’s license process to the Motor Vehicle experts, the focus can turn to a credential that identifies the person rather than on one that gives an individual the right to drive.
To go back to the example above, States that choose to issue PID cards at the same location as a driver’s license to take advantage of the infrastructure that is already in place, will find that the PID card is easily incorporated into existing processes.
As individuals apply for a PID card, five points of data (name, address, gender, date of birth and country of birth) and a biometric (finger image, facial image, signature, iris or voice) are registered the Identity Network™. Within moments, the facility is notified whether or not the individual is using a unique identity through identification.
A unique identity is something you are (a biometric). It is an identity unique to the individual based upon biometric data presented by the individual to prove identity.
The Identity Network infrastructure determines if an individual is using a multiple, stolen or synthetic identity. Every registration in the Identity Network presents an opportunity to prevent identity fraud. If an individual attempts to create another identity, the Identity Network detects the attempt and notifies the appropriate parties.
Following identification, the individual provides documentation such as a birth certificate and documents to prove residency. This is verification (individual matched to a unique identity).
The individual is then issued a PID card, which he or she can use to prove identity when applying for other credentials or opening accounts.
Registration through the Identity Network for a PID card means an individual’s identity has been secured from potential fraud because others will not be able to fraudulently use their identity.
BENEFITS
1. Identifies, so you can verify.
2. Low-cost and easy to implement.
3. Saves state governments billions of dollars.
4. Enhances privacy protection for U.S. citizens.
5. Sets a higher standard of security by eliminating the loopholes that lead to the issuance of fraudulent credentials.
6. Adaptable for use with other state programs requiring a trusted primary document – First Responders, Medicaid, etc.
7. Separates identification from driving privileges, so removes the burden on state motor vehicle offices and an already-stressed infrastructure.
8. Allows states to adhere to standards for identification based upon federal directives HSPD-12, HSPD-24 and NSPD-59.
*Extrapolated from The Real ID Act: National Impact Analysis presented by NGA, NCSL, AAMVA, September 2006.