Joni Brennan is the Executive Director of Kantara Initiative.  Before she served in her current role she was also the Director of Operations and Technology at Kantara Initiative and Liberty Alliance. Joni is one of many players working to move Identity Standards forward though community efforts.  Joni's expertise is in Standards Development and Collaborative Virtual Organizations with specific focus on Identity and Security.

Why did Kantara Initiative join the OIX?

Kantara Initiative joined OIX so that we could work together to further the adoption of the Open Identity Trust Framework Model.  We are collaborating with OIX to provide a full service solution to enable the adoption of Trust Frameworks.

Why is the Open Identity Framework Model important?

The Open Identity Trust Framework Model is important to the Identity Ecosystem to provide a baseline to build trust in services through the use of certified credentials through a certified Credential Service Provider (CSP) or Identity Provider (IdP).  End-users must be able to trust the services they engage with.  The Open Identity Trust Framework Model enables at least one area of Trust through Certification.  Kantara Initiative supports the Trust Framework Model through our Identity Assurance Framework and our Assurance Accreditation and Certification Program.  We are one of a small group of Trust Framework Providers recognized by the U.S. government to certify IdPs/CSPs.

What is a Trust Framework Provider?

As a Trust Framework Provider, Kantara Initiative follows the U.S. Federal Identity Credential and Access Management (FICAM) process for the management of Certification against a Trust Framework. As a Trust Framework Provider Kantara Initiative actually accredits auditors and certifies IdPs/CSPs to provide trust in their services.

What do you find most interesting about the work of the OIX?  

OIX is in interesting organization because its meta-data listing service is an important and integral segment of the Open Identity Trust Framework Model.  This area is of key importance to Kantara Initiative as OIX will list our Trust Framework meta-data.  Additionally, OIX is working with Kantara Initiative Members and Participants in the Kantara Federation Interoperability Work Group to create an open and transparent process through which this meta-data will be made available. These collaborative actions prove that both Kantara Initiative and OIX are well poised to collaborate towards adoption of Trust Framework solutions.

How could the work of OIX and the Kantara Initiative ultimately benefit consumers?

Our activities will ultimately benefit consumers by enabling them to have a baseline of trust in Services through our Certification Programs. Our activities benefit end users by working to build a more secure and trusted internet for use by all.  

Anything else you would like to add?

We'd like to thank OIX for their contributions to the deployment and adoption of the Open Identity Trust Framework Model.  We also commend them for taking clear and transparent steps to work collaboratively to solve these issues.  We're confident that working together we will achieve great heights of success which will benefit all actors in the identity space.