Key Insights and Answers from Identity Experts

Hutchinson

Benji Hutchinson

Chief Revenue Officer
Rank One Computing

Describe your experience and current position in the federal identity management sector?

I am the Chief Revenue Officer of ROC (Rank One Computing). ROC is an artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision (CV) algorithm and software solutions company, specializing in next generation identity and biometric technologies. I’ve spent the past 20 years of my career in the biometrics, identity, AI, and CV industries supporting private and public sector customers all around the world. In the federal sector, I’ve spent significant portions of my career supporting large-scale, enterprise, multimodal biometric programs at the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and the Intelligence Community.

How do you view the greatest potential (or challenge) for the evolution of identity management within the federal government?

We are experiencing a moment of mass acceptance, adoption, and maturation across the biometrics and identity industry. There are an increasingly large number and a wider range of technology options available to consumers and the federal government, today, more so than ever before. The challenge and opportunity lie in the government’s ability to leverage those technological advancements. The federal government stands to benefit enormously if it can effectively integrate evolving technologies into existing systems and processes to deliver value to citizens who consume public goods and services. AI is a popular topic these days and we are only at the beginning of how those technologies will affect the biometrics and identity industry, let alone the federal government writ large.

In what ways does the Federal Identity Forum & Expo (FedID) contribute to the success of your agency or organization?

FedID has a long tenure (+20 years) and occupies a special place within the federal biometrics and identity community. It is one of the only forums where government leaders, technical experts, industry partners, operational practitioners, and members of academia can come together in a tight knit, intimate format to discuss major issues and trends. I find it easier to truly absorb more meaningful information and have deeper conversations at FedID given there are fewer distractions from competing activities that might be common at larger industry events or conferences. There is a roll-your-sleeves-up atmosphere at FedID that lends itself to getting things done at this event.

McBride

Peter Marks

Business Development Lead
Presidential Innovation Fellow, Login.gov

Describe your experience and current position in the federal identity management sector?

I began my career as a software engineer and engineering manager in the private sector. In 2022, I transitioned to the public sector by joining the The Presidential Innovation Fellows program, which selects top innovators from the private sector and embeds them as entrepreneurs-in-residence in a federal agency.

I’m currently acting as Business Development Lead at GSA’s Login.gov program, where I leverage my technical expertise and people-centric approach in order to help federal agencies as well as state and local governments with their identity efforts.

How do you view the greatest potential (or challenge) for the evolution of identity management within the federal government?

The Government is responsible for ensuring that all members of the public have easy access to their benefits and services, while also protecting against an increasingly sophisticated network of bad actors that are trying to defraud Government programs.

Doing both of these things well presents a challenge for all agencies, and our goal at Login.gov is to provide a service that makes it much easier for them. We’ve partnered with 50 federal and state agencies and have 100M user accounts to date, though the nature of this problem is large in scope and ongoing.

In what ways does the Federal Identity Forum & Expo (FedID) contribute to the success of your agency or organization?

As a Government program, we collaborate with our partner agencies in order to address Identity challenges. We enjoy the chance to meet each other in-person and learn more about what's happening in the space

McBride

Adam Mcbride

Sr. IT Program Manager
Department of Health and Human Services

Describe your experience and current position in the federal identity management sector?

I am with the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), Program Support Center’s (PSC) and I am the ICAM/IdAM Sr. IT program manager. We oversee ICAM and PIV card issuance. I am one of the federal leads for the Single Sign-On (SSO) access management system (AMS) and the HHS NextGen external user management system (XMS).

How do you view the greatest potential (or challenge) for the evolution of identity management within the federal government?

I would have to say that one of the greatest potentials for the future of identity in the federal government is federating. The current environment for the federal government has a siloed structure. Setting the framework to allow for cross agency acceptance of Identity is happening now. It is just getting the systems in place to allow for the government to federate identities for cross agency use. Creating the federate assurance level (FAL) coupled with the IAL/AAL capabilities will allow the entire federal government to benefit from using a single credential for external users and allow a cross agency trust for authentication. This will save the government millions in credentialing fees. This could also benefit the private sector if the government would open a federated identity broker for the private industry. The health care industry would be a huge benefactor of this capability.

In what ways does the Federal Identity Forum & Expo (FedID) contribute to the success of your agency or organization?

FedID helps HHS by allowing the agencies that operate in the identity space to come together and discuss the ways we can enhance our customer user experience.

Blackburn

Duane Blackburn

S&T Policy Lead, Center for Data-Driven Policy
MITRE

Describe your experience and current position in the federal identity management sector?

I’ve worked in the federal identity space for 25 years. My first activity was launching the Face Recognition Vendor Test series, which NIST manages to this day. My current focus is coordinating the public-private/interagency team that plans FedID, with occasional policy-level guidance to Congress or the White House. Along the way, I’ve led identity-focused research programs in the Departments of Defense and Justice, co-chaired FAA’s screening working group in the aftermath of 9/11, and served in the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy for eight years (with identity as one of my portfolios) during the formative stages of the nation’s homeland security enterprise.

How do you view the greatest potential (or challenge) for the evolution of identity management within the federal government?

  1. Digital Identity. The evolution of identity management within the federal government holds immense potential, particularly in the realm of Digital Identity. As cyber threats escalate and the demand for personalized online services increases, the importance and complexity of digital identity services are set to grow considerably. This challenge is more intricate than the coordination of identities post 9/11 due to technical, legal, and policy aspects, as well as the sheer volume of entities (many outside the USG itself) involved. For instance, fraud in government entitlement programs costs more annually than the entire federal government's R&D budget, highlighting the magnitude of the problem.
  2. Information Integrity. The proliferation of news articles and policy analyses/recommendations, and occasionally draft legislation or policies themselves, that lack information integrity on identity matters continues to be a concern. Misinformation (incorrect information unknowingly shared), disinformation (deliberately shared false information) and malinformation (superficially accurate info presented without needed context to misinform) can emanate from both proponents and opponents of advanced identity capabilities. This not only complicates policy and program development but also undermines the trust of constituents, which is crucial for the successful implementation of advanced identity management systems.

In what ways does the Federal Identity Forum & Expo (FedID) contribute to the success of your agency or organization?

MITRE is a not-for-profit organization that works in the public interest, predominantly by operating multiple FFRDCs supporting federal agencies. I help lead our Center for Data-Driven Policy, which leverages the insights and expertise of MITRE’s ~10k employees to provide (non-lobbying) recommendations to policymakers so that their decisions are evidence-based, actionable, and effective.

FedID serves as an important connector. It brings together senior figures from the federal government and thought leaders from the broader identity community to exchange information and provide mutual mentoring, which in turn contributes to the success of federal programs. FedID is often referenced as a model for how other public-private technical communities should convene. This year, I’m particularly looking forward to the workshops that will take place during FedID, in which we’ll develop community-wide recommendations on identity priorities and activities for the next presidential administration.