$9 million in Grants Awarded to Support “Identity Ecosytem”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory federal agency that operates as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Established in 1902 the NIST core mission is to advance science, standards, and technology  to enhance economic security. NIST carries out this mission in part by conducting research to help U.S. companies improve products and services.

Last week the organization announced a $9 million grant awards program to support the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). Five organizations were awarded grants for a pilot program to demonstrate secure online transactions. The goal of the program includes increasing confidence in electronic sharing of personal health information. NSTIC envisions an “Identity Ecosystem” in which technologies, policies and consensus-based standards support greater trust and security when individuals, businesses and other organizations conduct sensitive transactions online.

“Increasing confidence in online transactions fosters innovation and economic growth,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher. “These investments in the development of identity solutions will help protect our citizens from identity theft and other types of fraud, while helping our businesses, especially small businesses, reduce their costs.”

The grant program covers multiple sectors and will test and demonstrate new solutions, models or frameworks that currently don’t exist today.

The grantees of the pilot include Resilient Network Systems, receiving $2 million for healthcare and education pilots to develop a secure network built on encryption technology. The Resilient pilot seeks to demonstrate that sensitive health and education transactions on the Internet can earn patient and parent trust. Resilient will partner with the AMA, Aetna, the American College of Cardiology, ActiveHealth Management, Medicity, LexisNexis, NaviNet, the San Diego Beacon eHealth Community, Gorge Health Connect, the Kantara Initiative, and the National eHealth Collaborative.

Learn more the NSTIC at:  http://www.nist.gov/nstic/