The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced a Phase 1 Other Transaction Award (OTA) to New York City-based company SpruceID to support digital wallets and digital and physical credential verification.
S&T's Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), in partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the DHS Privacy Office (PRIV), issued a solicitation in 2023 seeking solutions for privacy preserving digital credential wallets and verifiers. It builds on the success and global adoption of the open, standards-based digital credentialing solutions developed under its previous Preventing Forgery & Counterfeiting of Certificates and Licenses topic call, which aimed to address paper-based credentialing susceptible to loss, destruction, and counterfeiting.
This time, the Privacy Preserving Digital Credential Wallets & Verifiers topic call sought privacy-preserving components to directly integrate into credentialing systems enabled by the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Verifiable Credential Data Model (VCDM) and W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) standards utilized by DHS digital credentialing systems, which reflects the Department’s continued commitment to improving the delivery of its services in a way that both protects privacy and increases ease-of-use. The requirements included ensuring that DHS digital credential wallets and verifiers incorporated open, global standards that are not proprietary.
These standards were established by the W3C, a global standards development organization that manages the development of open standards ensuring interoperability, accessibility, internationalization, privacy and security. DHS participates as a W3C member to ensure DHS-relevant security and privacy criteria are incorporated into the standards development process.
“DHS is the authoritative source of some of the most highly valued credentials issued by the US Federal Government for cross-border travel, demonstrating employment eligibility, residency status and citizenship,” said Anil John, Technical Director of SVIP. “The capabilities developed under this solicitation will ensure that those credentials can be stored securely and verified properly while preserving the privacy of individuals using openly developed standards that are globally acceptable, highly secure, and accessible to all.
“USCIS is the United States’ authoritative issuer of highly valued credentials related to citizenship and immigration. Supporting standards-based digital credentials and secure digital wallets for storing them enables us to meet our customer expectations of ease, convenience, privacy and security in an increasingly digital world,” said Jared X. Goodwin, Acting Chief Program Management and Data Division, Service Center Operations, USCIS.
SpruceID is enhancing its digital wallet and verifier capabilities to better support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards for enterprise and public sector environments. Their software creates verifiable digital credentials prioritizing user privacy and security, ensuring safe usage across various digital wallets and interoperability across sectors like finance, healthcare, anti-fraud and cross-border applications.
SpruceID, one of six startups selected under this solicitation, will partner with DHS to identify, develop, and implement privacy enhancing technologies to meet Homeland Security mission needs. Selected through a highly competitive process, SpruceID was awarded $199,960 for Phase 1 and is eligible for up to $1.7M across four SVIP phases.
On behalf of DHS components, SVIP invests in startup companies from across the nation and around the world, with viable technologies suitable for rapid prototyping projects to adapt, develop and harness cutting-edge capabilities that are commercially sustainable, while simultaneously meeting the needs of DHS components and programs. For more information on current and future SVIP solicitations, visit https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/svip.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) mission is to enable effective, efficient, and secure operations across all homeland security missions by applying scientific, engineering, analytic, and innovative approaches to deliver timely solutions and support departmental acquisitions. Created by Congress in 2003, S&T conducts basic and applied research, development, demonstration, testing and evaluation activities relevant to support Homeland Security and first responder operations and protect critical infrastructure. For more information about S&T, visit https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology.