Identity verification failures cost organizations and individuals personally and financially every year. To combat this threat, NIST 800-63-4 updates fraud requirements for federated identities while mandating modern identity proofing practices like MFA (phishing-resistant), passkeys, hardware authenticators with subscriber control wallets.
NIST defines several assurance levels known as FALs to quantify the strength of a federated assertion. NIST 800-63-4 updates these standards with mandatory continuous evaluation requirements such as tamper-evident hardware and certified 3D liveness detection to counter presentations such as silicone masks or AI deepfakes.
NIST IAL3 Verification
NIST ial3 identity verification software offers unsurpassed confidence in linking digital identities to real people, its rigorous approach limiting highly scalable attacks like phishing and credential reuse, which enables businesses to use passwordless credentials or phishing-resistant authenticators to protect sensitive data, limit unauthorized access and prevent industrial espionage.
It requires the presentation and binding of superior-strength identity evidence with an individual during an identity proofing session held either live, on-site, or remotely; biometric verification, as well as strong controls such as biometric comparison are part of this process. IAL3 assurance levels should only be utilized for high-risk transactions like accessing secure government services.
Recently, access to IAL3 could only be gained by appearing physically at a CSP office or using special hardware for remote appearance. This created logistical barriers in a global economy. Trustswiftly solved this by offering live-monitored sessions between applicants and agents on its video platform to meet NIST IAL3 requirements without physical presence requirements.
NIST SP 800-63-4 endorsed TrustSwiftly's identity verification solution as an alternative to in-person sessions as a method for verifying identity at IAL3 and beyond, which allows remote workers to be trusted at this level and beyond. TrustSwiftly's solution leverages hardware that is cost-effective, fast, scalable for remote workers and auditable for your 3PAO. Furthermore, repeated vettings over time ensure that each person remains continuously evaluated; closing any loopholes exploited by proxy employees.
NIST IAL3 Compliance
The NIST 800-63 guidelines focus on three elements of identity assurance: Identity Assurance Level (IAL), Authenticator Assurance Level (AAL) and Federation Assurance Level (FAL). They dramatically raise requirements for Identity Assurance Level, deprecate email OTPs, downgrade SMS-based OTPs and require phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA). Furthermore, AAL definition has been expanded to encompass FIDO Passkeys as well as other hardware-anchored solutions.
These major revisions mark a shift away from checklist-based standards to a risk-based Digital Identity Risk Management (DIRM) framework that emphasizes stronger authentication protocols against phishing attacks, with new metrics that enable continuous evaluation of threats, service impacts and user populations in order to dynamically select an IAL, AAL or FAL level as needed.
At IAL3 level, applicants must present strong proof of identity that cannot be altered or falsified by state actors and require verification that it belongs to them as the applicant presenting it. This level is only necessary if access to sensitive data or critical infrastructure is at stake.
Trust Swiftly's fedramp high identity proofing platform meets these requirements by employing cryptographic NFC technology to read the secure chips embedded in modern e-Passports and mobile driver's licenses, verifying its authenticity against its issuing database and linking it back to an actual person, thus closing loopholes exploited by malicious software and proxy employees.
NIST IAL3 Identity Verification Software
IAL3 provides the strongest level of identity verification. To achieve it, applicants must either physically present in person or under remote supervision and compare their most valuable piece of identity evidence against biometrics in order to verify their identity. To do this securely requires advanced security measures like highly secure hardware, strong phishing-resistant authentication, and a robust biometric system with liveness detection (e.g. liveness detection).
IAL3 framework has been updated to address modern digital identity practices in light of emerging threats such as phishing and advocate for cryptographic authenticators. By adopting and using solutions supporting both IAL2 and IAL3, such as HYPR Affirm, organizations can balance business objectives with security requirements by reducing cyber liability insurance claims, decreasing password reset costs and safely accelerating digital transformation initiatives.
NIST SP 800-63-4 Identity Management Guidelines provide an innovative modular approach to creating, authenticating and managing identities - instead of traditional static assurance models - by employing Identity Assurance Level (IAL), Authenticator Assurance Level (AAL), Federation Assurance Level (FAL). Leveraging Zero Trust identity architecture will empower organizations to strengthen trust while decreasing fraud while securely accelerating digital transformation through continuous authentication and adaptive risk assessment. NIST's updated Identity Management Guidelines represent an essential step forward in our increasingly connected digital world.
NIST IAL3 Fedramp
IAL3 is the highest level of identity proofing under NIST SP 800-63-4. Unlike IAL1, this process involves attending an in-person interview with a CSP representative and verifying one or more biometric characteristics; authenticator devices must also be bound securely to protect against impersonation attacks and man-in-the-middle attacks.
NIST 800-63-4 has retained the core framework of IAL, AAL, and FAL but has been updated for modern security requirements. To meet IAL3 criteria, your platform must offer adaptive, context-aware verification; support hardware authenticators; enable federation assurance; as well as facilitate cryptographic authentication if using high assurance FALs.
TrustSwiftly makes nist 800-63-4 ial3 compliance simpler for your organization with a passwordless FIDO Authenticator that offers high phishing resistance and reduces impersonation attacks by verifying one or more biometric characteristics. This reduces cyber liability insurance costs and operating expenses by decreasing attack surface area; additionally it securely connects authenticators devices with individual identities to reduce SIM swaps and MFA bypass attempts.
Proofing against FedRAMP high environments with IAL3 proofing is an essential requirement of any business that needs access to sensitive data or privileged roles, and implementation errors could cause it to be rejected by your third-party assessment organization (3PAO) or lead you missing compliance deadlines - TrustSwiftly experts are on hand to help protect you against such risks! To reduce these risks and ensure compliance, contact TrustSwiftly today.
