Feb 14, 2017 in News, Papers & Projects, Press Releases by DIACC

International Award – Distributed Privacy Enhancing Technology

Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada Awarded International Grant to Advance Cloud Based Identity Management, Security, and Data Privacy

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Funding to Support Research and Development of New Cloud Based Solutions – Founded on Canadian Values-  to Protect Digital Identities and Enable Canada’s Digital Economy

TORONTO– February 14, 2017 –The Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC), a non-profit coalition of public and private sector leaders committed to developing a Canadian digital identification and authentication framework, today announced their receipt of a new applied research grant, in collaboration with Canada’s SecureKey Technologies, to enable the development of a cloud based identity ecosystem.

The grant, valued at up to US$800,000, is the result of a collaboration between the DIACC and the Command, Control, and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analytics (CCICADA) a research center of excellence at Rutgers University funded by the Science & Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“DIACC helps to drive innovation in Canada – for the world – by catalyzing ground breaking digital ID and authentication research,” said Joni Brennan, President, DIACC. “By focusing on applying Canadian values of privacy, security and transparency to the development of the global digital identity ecosystem, DIACC is working to ensure that Canada is a leader in shaping the global digital economy. If Canada is to seize the opportunity of the digital economy, we must invest together in digital ID and authentication – these are the rails upon which the digital economy runs.”

Leveraging modern distributed network architectures (blockchain), the Cloud Identity Ecosystem will give Canadian businesses, consumers, governments and civil society members the tools they need to securely manage digital identities and assets. The Ecosystem will be built within a framework that protects and promotes Canadian values and perspectives; applying the ten DIACC Digital Identity Ecosystem Principals that a trusted digital ecosystem must:

  1. Be robust, secure, and scalable
  2. Implement, protect, and enhance Privacy by Design
  3. Be inclusive, open, and meets broad stakeholder needs
  4. Be transparent in governance and operation
  5. Provide Canadians choice, control, and convenience
  6. Be built on open, standards-based protocols
  7. Be interoperable with international standards
  8. Be cost effective and open to competitive market forces
  9. Be able to be independently assessed, audited and subject to enforcement
  10. Minimize data transfer between authoritative sources and will not create new identity databases

“SecureKey is fully committed to developing a national cloud ecosystem that puts consumers first and increases both their digital security and privacy,” said Andre Boysen, Chief Identity Officer of SecureKey. “This funding will be essential in making that commitment a reality, ensuring that consumers have access to secure digital protection.”

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This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T). Any opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of DHS S&T, CCICADA, and the broader DIACC membership.

About Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC)

Created as a result of the federal government’s Task Force for the Payments System Review, the DIACC is a non-profit coalition of public and private sector leaders committed to developing a Canadian digital identification and authentication framework to enable Canada’s full and secure participation the global digital economy. DIACC members include representatives from both the federal and provincial levels of government as well as private sector leaders.

 

The DIACC’s objective is to unlock economic opportunities for Canadian consumers, and businesses by providing the framework to develop a robust, secure, scalable and privacy enhancing digital identification and authentication ecosystem that will decrease costs for governments, consumers, and business while improving service delivery and driving GDP growth. To learn more visit www.diacc.ca or follow us on twitter @mydiacc

 

About The Command, Control and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analysis

CCICADA — The Command, Control and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analysis — is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security University Center of Excellence that uses advanced data analysis and systems to address natural and manmade threats to the safety and security of the American people. CCICADA’s work is carried out by researchers and students with 17 partner institutions. The lead university in the partnership is Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. CCICADA’s director is Dr. Fred Roberts, Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers.

 

About SecureKey Technologies

SecureKey is a leading identity and authentication provider that simplifies consumer access to online services and applications. SecureKey enables next generation privacy-enhancing 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 and San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.securekey.com.

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Krista Pawley

Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada

Kpawley@diacc.ca

416-270-9987