Experian Spearheads Collaboration Between Private Industry and Government on Cybersecurity and Identity Management

COSTA MESA, Calif., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Supporting the recent announcement by Obama Administration officials that the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council will work in partnership for cybersecurity innovation, Experian®, the leading global information services company, organized a gathering of representatives from various government agencies and private industry experts for a discussion to share best practices for ensuring that online services are safe, reliable and secure against cyber threats.

More than 40 people attended the forum at the Ronald Reagan Building, including representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the U.S. Department of Education.

"Experian is proud to be a part of such an important forum that brought together expert leaders in the public and private sectors to share best practices and lessons learned on cybersecurity and e-authentication," said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Government Services. "Given the constituent demand for online services, the focus on open government and the growing threat of fraud against government agencies, e-government is potentially a data supermarket for fraudsters, which means that government agencies must be best-in-class in identity proofing and fraud prevention."  

E-government directives, public demand, and the need for greater operational efficiency require that government agencies offer access to a variety of online services. However, cybersecurity threats, such as identity fraud and data breaches, hinder agencies' ability to grant online access while simultaneously safeguarding agency and constituent data. As the private sector strengthens its protection against fraud and cybersecurity threats, it also has become critical for the public sector to embrace cutting-edge authentication technologies to avoid becoming a target of fraud.

The panelists addressed the Office of Management and Budget's cybersecurity and identity management standards, which describe four levels of identity authentication assurance. They also discussed the National Institute of Standards and Technology's electronic authentication guidelines which provide technical requirements for each of the four authentication levels of assurance. The expert panelists explained how government agencies can distinguish between each level of assurance and implement the authentication method required. Applying the lessons learned from the private sector, the experts also discussed balancing security and privacy issues and how government agencies can provide a positive constituent experience on their e-government sites.

"Recognizing the prevalent and growing cybersecurity risk facing the public sector, Experian Government Services provides customized, premier authentication services to government agencies to safeguard identities and manage electronic information access," Waldron said. "What sets Experian apart is our ability to extract significant value by applying analytics to our up-to-date, diverse and broad-reaching data assets and make the information actionable."

During the panel, Waldron discussed Experian's best practices for e-authentication, which include:

• Identity proofing—using accurate and broad-reaching data assets to validate identity elements such as name, address, date of birth, phone, and Social Security number and employing these validated elements to verify individual identities
• Risk-based authentication— incorporating analytics in the form of identity risk scores and a holistic assessment of a subject and transaction with the end goal of applying effective but not overly intrusive or costly authentication treatments
• Out-of-wallet data—providing consumers and constituents dynamically generated questions designed to segment true name individuals from fraudulent ones, a process that incorporates knowledge-based authentication to an overall authentication strategy to add an additional layer of verification and attainment of assurance

About Experian

Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 90 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2010, was $3.9 billion.

Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Experian