GSA awards $194M in identity proofing tech pacts

The General Services Administration has awarded eight companies positions on a set of 10-year blanket purchase agreements worth up to $194.5 million combined for the purchase of identity proofing technologies.

GSA started on the pacts in March 2023 with a request for information to identify industry sources for those tools in support of Login.gov, a portal launched in 2017 to give citizens a single digital account for use across multiple government sites.

A total of 17 companies submitted bids for the Logingov Next Generation Identity Proofing BPA and the awards were finalized on Thursday, according to Federal Procurement Data System records.

The BPAs' collective ordering period will run through March 14, 2034 and the winners are:

• Aderas
• Carahsoft
• Celerity Government Solutions
• Diamond Capture Associates
• Experian Information Solutions
• Idemia Identity & Security USA
• LexisNexis Special Services
• TransUnion

GSA stood up Login.gov as part of overarching efforts by federal agencies to improve the customer experience and bolster their cybersecurity postures. Federal and state agencies offer digital services to citizens via Login.gov.

The journey to fully roll out Login.gov has included some controversy and debate with respect to how the portal authenticates and identify proofs users. GSA plans to incorporate facial recognition technology into Login.gov at some point this year, which has been another point of contention.

The IRS is one example of an agency that has been slow to embrace Login.gov as officials there have been concerned about the portal's security functions, instead relying on ID.me as the primary identity verification tool.

But in a similar vein to Login.gov, the ID.me tool's similar use of facial recognition has been the subject of scrutiny from lawmakers and civil society groups.