Trust in a zero-trust world To truly secure remote (and all) work environments, organizations need to focus on establishing trusted identities from the start. This is where standards like Identity Assurance Level 3 (IAL3) come in. IAL3 is built on three core principles that address the fundamental weaknesses of conventional (and even IAL2) assurance programs: 1. Advanced remote document authentication: IAL3 solutions use sophisticated technologies that can analyze digital images of identity documents for signs of tampering and verify their authenticity against issuing authority databases. This provides a much higher level of confidence than simple visual inspection of uploaded documents. 2. Supervised remote identity proofing (SRIP): SRIP features trained agents who guide remote individuals through the identity verification process via secure video conferencing. This allows for real-time visual inspection of identity documents and the individual, significantly reducing the risk of fraud. 3. Biometric verification and binding: IAL3 solutions incorporate biometric checks, such as facial recognition with liveness detection, during onboarding and potentially for ongoing authentication. Securely binding these biometrics to the user’s digital identity adds a strong layer of assurance that the individual accessing resources is the legitimate user. Investing in an IAL3 solution for robust identity proofing of remote workers can deliver measurable business value beyond the critical outcome of mitigating security breaches. Most immediately, modern remote identity-proofing can greatly enhance existing HR workflows for onboarding new remote employees, driving efficiencies within HR teams, while allowing new employees to be productive much faster. Strong identity-proofing also can help organizations meet increasingly stringent data privacy and security regulations that require strong identity verification — and streamline these compliance demands to reduce overall compliance costs. More directly driving competitive advantage, establishing a trusted foundation of identity can also support greater productivity and collaboration by giving remote employees and distributed teams the seamless access and frictionless information sharing that they need to move work forward. The perception of IAL3 identity-proofing as complex and expensive has been completely upended by the advent of mobile kits and kiosks; the advance of SRIP services; and transactional models for accessing the hardware, software and SRIP agent services needed to implement IAL3 identity proofing. These innovations make strong identity-proofing practical and cost-effective for organizations of all sizes and types. Moreover, the development of a nationwide network of remote identity-proofing infrastructure provides the missing piece of that practicality puzzle. Remote employees around the country are now in close proximity to a node in this network — and soon, obtaining the highest level of assurance will be as easy as visiting a nearby location like a local post office. This emerging network effect evokes a relatable historical precedent: The technology behind ATMs was around for decades, but ATMs didn’t gain traction until networks expanded and visiting a local ATM became more convenient than visiting the nearest bank branch. As the technology grows more usable and cost-effective and the network expands, IAL3 identity-proofing will increasingly become the path to greater convenience, lower costs and the seamless digital experiences enabled by truly trusted identities. o Pavin Guduri is vice president of engineering at NextgenID. Percentage of Attack Detections That Were Malware-free Source: ConnectWise hnology advisory business currently using AI? Productivity Improved operational efficiency Improved customer experience Automation Innovation Modernization Cost reduction Improved employee experience Scalabili Source: Telarus 0% 10% 20% 30% 28% 30% 25% 25 40% 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 51% 62% 71% 75% 79% 39 SUMMER 2025 | CHANNELVISION
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