NIST SP 800-63-4 marks an historic transition away from checklist-driven requirements toward risk-based Digital Identity Risk Management (DIRM). This framework prioritizes stronger phishing-resistant authentication protocols while meeting modern usability expectations for identity processes.

Maintaining the core IAL, AAL and FAL assurance levels but refining their requirements to meet modern security needs. Notably by deprecating email OTP authentication and downgrading SMS-based authentication while also officially supporting remote unattended ID proofing with FIDO Passkeys.

IAL3 Compliance

Businesses moving onto digital platforms must ensure users are who they claim they are through a process known as nist ial3 verification, which involves multiple layers of security to be successful. To simplify this process, NIST has issued guidelines on how to perform ial3 identity verification software hrough three levels of assurance: Identity Assurance Levels (IAL), Authentication Assurance Levels (AAL), and Federation Authentication Levels (FAL).

Mitek's solution combines document authentication and biometrics to achieve IAL3. First, its software scans government-issued documents such as passports or driver's licenses for security features that cross-reference against trusted databases; next it captures live images of people and compares it with their photos found on submitted documents to make sure they match.

IAL3 requires verification that the person using an AAL is indeed who claims they are authenticating, as well as phishing resistance requirements that limit authenticators so they can effectively counter phishing attacks. Finally, it requires that an AAL be connected to an FAL in order to guarantee that IdPs are sending encrypted assertions directly to valid recipients.

Fedramp High

FedRAMP's highest level of authorization, High, offers significant advantages to CSPs that serve federal agencies with high-impact systems. Unlike lower impact levels, High requires review by an accredited Third-Party Assessment Organization (3PAO), as well as continuous monitoring, documentation, and vulnerability scanning. Furthermore, High has stricter security practices than Low: more stringent authentication (including phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication), stronger encryption techniques, granular logging with near real-time incident detection capability, as well as more stringent security practices that impose stricter security practices that include more stringent authentication (including multi-factor authentication), stronger encryption stronger encryption technologies plus stricter authentication/encryption practices to name just some examples of its many requirements.

Acquiring the fedramp high identity proofing also establishes great credibility with security-conscious commercial customers in highly regulated industries like financial services, healthcare and critical infrastructure. Achieved status signals to these customers that FedRAMP High service meets rigorous government standards establishing them as security leaders within their own marketplaces - this has great bearing when procuring sensitive federal contracts that demand higher security standards from providers; for many providers wanting these contracts this requirement cannot be ignored or negotiable.

Identity Proofing

Nist 800-63-4 ial3 compliance introduces new requirements for enrollment, identity proofing and authentication that necessitate a risk-based approach in determining an assurance level appropriate to each use case, protecting against threats such as highly-scalable attacks and synthetic identities.

Limit phishing by abandoning email OTP and SMS authentication, mandating AAL2+ resistance against phishing attempts and mandating hardware-backed authenticators like passkeys or FIDO2 as the gold standard for high assurance identities.

Adjusting to these changes requires an examination of identity architecture and an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement. Beginning by identifying gaps and mapping existing processes to the IAL, AAL, and FAL definitions is the first step toward meeting new demands. Modern identity platforms that support Zero Trust-alignment with MFA authentication tools, hardware authenticators, strong federation capabilities and in-person identity proofing methods may help organizations strike an equitable balance between security and usability while reaching more underserved populations who may not have affordable high speed internet for remote enrollment enrollment purposes.