E-authentication policy due Friday

"e-Authentication initiative"

The General Services Administration will publish a draft policy July 11 outlining how federal agencies should validate the identities of users conducting business through e-government applications.

Speaking at a forum at the Capitol today, Mark Forman, administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of E-Government and Information Technology, said GSA will publish the policy describing "agency use of e-authentication in the government" in the Federal Registry.

The concept of a single authentication system, or gateway, is a key component of the Bush administration's initiative to secure sensitive transactions, he noted. The e-Authentication gateway is one of the 24 e-government initiatives backed by the administration.

The gateway is designed to consolidate the validation of multiple authentication levels, such as passwords, personal identification numbers and digital certificates, through a single interface.

"E-authentication minimizes the burden of doing transactions online," Forman told forum participants. The forum, which focused on e-government and information security policy issues, was hosted by the Business Software Alliance and Center for Strategic and International Studies.