UK Government issues revised identity proofing guidelines
January 9, 2014 |
The UK Government has updated its guidelines on identity proofing and verification. The guidelines have been jointly issued by the Cabinet Office and the UK’s National Technical Authority on Information Assurance. It is found here. The government previously issued a consultation paper on draft identity assurance principles (found here)
There are four levels of assurance that organisations can have about an individuals’ identity with details of the evidence and checks required in order to claim compliance with each level.
The standards range from requiring a basic level of verification and validation of documents to the need to obtain and verifyidentifying documentation including biometric passports and bank statements. It is relevant that the principles require ID assurance service providers to only process “the minimum data that is necessary” to meet the needs of individual service users. In addition, ID assurance providers would have to provide individuals with a right to access their personal data for free and transmit the data to another provider “in a standard electronic format, free of charge and without impediment or delay” upon the request of a user.
