The Financial Benefits of Adopting NSTIC-Aligned Identity Solutions

When every website requires users to create a different username and password for online access, remembering login information can be challenging. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) believes users should be able to reuse the same login information to conduct a variety of online transactions—across the government and private sectors—in a way that is secure and privacy-enhancing. This vision aligns with the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), a White House initiative signed by President Obama in 2011. To demonstrate the potential benefits to the federal government of reusing login information, NIST engaged the services of a Capstone team to conduct an analysis of widespread adoption of this technology. The Capstone team surveyed officials from multiple agencies to collect data on each agency’s current practices and the associated financial costs, and worked with staff from NIST and other federal agencies to determine the financial calculation methods. The team estimated benefits and costs of adopting this technology and extrapolated to estimate government-wide cost savings if all federal agencies were to adopt it.