NIST SP 800-63-3

Full title

Electronic Authentication Guideline

Category: Security Control Implementation Guide

Date: 12/1/2011

Creator: NIST

URL: http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-63-2.pdf

Description: Technical guidelines for Federal agencies implementing electronic authentication. The document lists technical requirements for the four levels assurance defined in OMB M-04-04 in the areas of identity proofing, registration, tokens, management processes, authentication protocols and assertion mechanisms.

Privacy: Advises agencies to reference OMB Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002 [OMB M-03-22]. Subscribers are assumed to trust relying parties to follow "all relevant privacy policy." PII gathered during registration is required to be protected. The document also defines "private credentials", which are credentials that cannot be disclosed without compromising the token (such as symmetric keys). There is discussion of when Relying Parties may operate anonymously, and discussion of how pseudonymity may be achieved.

Security: The document is an information security guideline. The requirements in the document are grouped into four assurance levels that provide increasing levels of trust in the authentication process.

Interoperability: The purpose of the document is to provide sets of requirements for the OMB-04-04 Levels of Assurance. It promotes interoperability by providing a baseline set of requirements for diverse Identity Management systems.