Research to take in identity fraud trends on dark web
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is sizing up the cyber threats to the GOV.UK Verify online identity assurance service.
It is laying the ground for a six-month project, set to begin at the end of this month, to look into the risks and threats to the ecosystem around the service.
It has put out a call for cyber specialist to carry out research on how a fraudster could try to get through the identify verification process, taking in trends in identity fraud on the dark web and work with the GDS security operations team to use the information in combating identity fraud.
Plans for the project include the provision of a report into the initial findings after two months, with further reports later in the process.
The reference to an ecosystem is significant given that Verify involves the active involvement of a number of ‘identity providers’ that carry out the initial authentication of individuals. They then provide a government service provider with the relevant attributes to confirm an identity and entitlement to a service through a central hub.
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