In an effort to promote efficiencies and reduce paperwork costs, three leading identity trust hubs and a certification authority have signed an agreement to promote the use of digital identities and public key infrastructure (PKI) for employees in both the private and public sectors.

The three trust hubs serve various facets of government and industry. The Federal PKI Architecture, a unit of the U.S. Government Services Administration, serves federal agencies. CertiPath serves various industries, including aerospace and defense. SAFE-BioPharma serves the global biopharmaceutical and health care sectors. Research and Education Bridge Certification Authority, targeted toward the education and research sectors, also signed the agreement. The four are also members of the Four Bridges Forum.

With the agreement, the organizations plan to educate the public and private sectors about PKI technology and how it can protect business and government transactions from fraud and theft, as well as enable valid digital signatures for signing documents. The three trust hubs, which are a group of digital credential issuers that create inter-organizational interoperability and trust, are based on PKI technology, and the certification authority is developing a PKI bridge.

The group plans to document best practices through literature, media outreach, industry meetings and the Internet. They will then make them available to government and private employees, as well as decision makers. The group will also meet to discuss ways to enhance interoperability and trust in the trust hub environment.