Kantara Initiative

What it is

Kantara Initiative describes itself as "a global community focused on improving the trustworthy use of identity and personal data." Its home page states: "Assurance through globally trusted identity certification programs." In its own words, "We are the only organization able to assess identity products and services against the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) 800-63 guidance for identity, privacy and security," and "In the US, they include the requirements of NIST SP 800-63 rev.3."

Kantara also states: "We build confidence that assessed services conform against national standards, including the UK government's DIATF and National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) 800-63 standards for identity privacy and security." Kantara offers certification under a US program (aligned to NIST SP 800-63) and a UK program under the UK's Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF).

Kantara's public registry, the Trust Status List, is described on Kantara's own page as "A list of Identity Services Providers, Accredited Assessors & Registered Applicants approved by Kantara Initiative," covering "all approved Trust Mark holders, Registered Applicants, and Accredited Assessors in our international Identity Assurance Program."

Who owns it

Kantara Initiative owns and operates the certification programs described above.

Who assesses it

Assessment is carried out under Kantara's Identity Assurance Program Framework (IAF): "Under our global Identity Assurance Program Framework (IAF) you will engage with specialist identity assessors." Assessors are themselves accredited through a separate Kantara accreditation track.