Shamsh Hadi, CEO of ZorroSign, Inc. – a technology company based in Phoenix, AZ, endorsed legislation introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives to establish a government-wide approach to improving digital identity. “This important legislative initiative will help facilitate the modernization of our country’s digital identity infrastructure which is lagging behind our global competitors,” said Hadi, who is also a founding member of the Association for Data and Cyber Governance (ADCG).

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The bi-partisan bill, the Improving Digital Identity Act of 2021, was introduced on June 30, 2021 by U.S. Reps. Bill Foster (D-IL), John Katko (R-NY), Jim Langevin (D-RI), and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA). The bill would establish a task force to bring together key federal agencies with state and local government representatives to develop secure methods for government agencies to validate identity attributes to protect the privacy and security of individuals, and support reliable, interoperable digital identity verification tools in the public and private sectors. The bill, H.R. 4258, would also direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create a new framework of standards to guide government agencies when providing digital identity verification services – placing an emphasis on privacy and security. Finally, the bill would establish a grant program within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow states to upgrade the systems they use to issue drivers’ licenses and other types of identity credentials, and to support the development of secure, interoperable state systems that enable digital identity verification in accordance with the framework developed by NIST.

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“Congressman Foster, Katko, Langevin and Loudermilk are to be applauded for their strong leadership in Congress on the vital issue of digital identity verification,” noted Hadi. “As the CEO of a company that lives and breathes privacy and security, I appreciate the vital nature of this legislative effort. Congress must tackle this issue head-on and the Improving Digital Identity Act is a critical leap forward.”

Hadi asserted that “enactment of this bill into law will ensure that the United States remains a world leader when it comes to online privacy and security. Indeed, the future of our economy depends on the U.S. government tackling this issue and doing everything possible to ensure that the United States is on the cutting edge when it comes to digital identity verification services.”