Google, PayPal, Equifax to provide trusted logins

The federal government has approved a universal sign-in application for use on secure government websites. The move will allow users who are logged into one site to easily and securely switch to another agency site without having to sign in again. In other words, one agency will be able to trust the identity information of a user from another federal site.

The system is known as the Open Identity Exchange. So far, users will be able to sign in to federal sites with their account credentials furnished by Google, PayPal and Equifax. Others are set to follow, including Verizon.

The system will eventually become a government-wide effort. The first agency to accept outside login credentials on its site will be the National Institutes of Health.

The exchange relies on a trust framework that certifies online identity managers meeting U.S. federal standards for identity assurance. The exchange was created with the support of the OpenID Foundation and the Information Card Foundation.

For more details:
- see this PCWorld article