Secure Identity Alliance launches OSIA Qualification Program at ID4Africa

The OSIA qualification program aims at enhancing interoperability of ID management systems, support ID solution development, and address government requirements for OSIA compliance.

Marrakesh, Morocco, June 15th, 2022. Secure Identity Alliance (SIA), the global identity and secure digital services advisory body, today announces the OSIA Qualification Program at the ID4Africa 2022 General Meeting.

Developed in response to the growing number of government bodies looking to ensure compliance with OSIA specification as a pre-requisite in their tendering processes, this program allows ID vendors to certify their solutions as ‘OSIA-Qualified’.

The OSIA Qualification will be adjudicated by an independent body, GlobalPlatform, who will issue the ‘OSIA-qualified’ mark to the vendors after the successful assessment of their products/solutions against the OSIA test plan, developed by FIME.

Matthew Cole, Chairman at Secure Identity Alliance, said: “The importance of openness and interoperability within the identity ecosystem cannot be underestimated. Not only does this drive product and solution innovation, it enables governments to confidently invest in the future-proofed national identity schemes that underpin social and economic development. OSIA’s role in ensuring seamless connectivity between all components of the identity management ecosystem is well established – and this Qualification Program provides an important marker of compliance.”

"Creating trusted digital identities has become a critical priority to support a broad range of use cases, enabled by the growing number of connected devices. GlobalPlatform is proud to bring its 15 years of experience in qualification to support SIA with this important initiative to bring interoperability and ensure digital IDs can be accepted with confidence,” commented Ana Tavares Lattibeaudiere, Executive Director at GlobalPlatform. “As a standards body working for the mass market, GlobalPlatform recognizes the value of compliance and qualification in making standards a success and we're pleased to support the OSIA Qualification Program.”

Alongside the launch of the OSIA Qualification, SIA will be represented at the Digital Public Infrastructure/Digital Stacks workshop by Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Initiative. Debora will be discussing the role of open standards, such as OSIA, in helping to build Digital Public Infrastructure/Digital Stacks, create a level playing field within the vendor space, and how these nurture the development of local services markets.

For more on the work of the SIA and to explore the OSIA Qualification program in more detail, visit us at ID4Africa 2022 at booth A0.7.

- Ends -

Note to Editors:

About the Secure Identity Alliance

The Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) is an expert and globally recognised not-for-profit organisation. We bring together public, private and non-government organisations to foster international collaboration, help shape policy, provide technical guidance and share best practice in the implementation of identity programmes. Underpinning our work is the belief that unlocking the full power of identity is critical to enable people, economy and society to thrive.

For more information on the Secure Identity Alliance, visit: www.secureidentityalliance.org.
Follow the Secure Identity Alliance at @secureidentity1 on Twitter
Follow the Secure Identity Alliance at https://www.linkedin.com/company/secure-identity-alliance/

Press Contact: Stéphanie de Labriolle This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About GlobalPlatform

GlobalPlatform is a technical standards organization that enables the efficient launch and management of innovative, secure-by-design digital services and devices, which deliver end-to-end security, privacy, simplicity and convenience to users. It achieves this by providing standardized technologies and certifications that empower technology and service providers to develop, certify, deploy and manage digital services and devices in line with their business, security, regulatory and data protection needs. Key offerings include secure component specifications; the Device Trust Architecture for accessing secure services within a device; the IoTopia Framework for secure launch and management of connected devices; and the SESIP Methodology for IoT device certification.

GlobalPlatform technologies are used in billions of smart cards, smartphones, wearables and other connected and IoT devices to enable convenient and trusted digital services across market sectors, including healthcare, government and enterprise ID, payments, smart cities, industrial automation, smart home, telecoms, transportation, utilities, and OEMs.
GlobalPlatform standardized technologies and certifications are developed through effective industry-driven collaboration, led by multiple diverse member companies working in partnership with industry and regulatory bodies and other interested parties from around the world.