ID.me Appoints Renowned Computer Scientist, University of Washington Associate Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access in Paul G. Allen School to Advise on Technology & Equity Research
Tadayoshi Kohno will advance company mission to promote privacy, security, equity and access in digital identity.
MCLEAN, Virginia – ID.me, the secure digital identity network with more than 90 million users, announced the appointment of Tadayoshi (Yoshi) Kohno to Head of Technology & Equity Research. Kohno will leverage his expertise on the security, privacy, and equity of current and future generation technologies to support ID.me in continuing to build the future of identity for all.
“As we support the digital economy, we have an obligation to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate,” said Blake Hall, ID.me co-founder and CEO. “Yoshi’s leadership in the fields of equity, access, privacy, and security will build on ID.me’s unwavering commitment to the same, increase transparency, and help provide all people with access to a digital identity.”
Kohno is a professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where he works as the Associate Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access. He also has adjunct appointments in the School of Law and the Information School. Kohno is the recipient of several research awards, including the Technology Review TR-35 Young Innovator Award and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Golden Goose Award for his team’s discovery of how someone could hack an internet-connected car, which led to increased security measures industrywide. In addition to authoring more than a dozen award papers and presenting his research to the U.S. House of Representatives, Kohno co-authored the anthology, “Telling Stories: On Culturally Responsive Artificial Intelligence.” He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at San Diego.
“ID.me values innovative, user-centric technology, placing it at the forefront of digital identity,” said Kohno. “I’m excited to bring my experience to bear and engage with the ID.me team to continue charting the future of digital identity, ensuring equity, access, privacy and security for all people.”
Yoshi’s work at ID.me will further the company’s commitment to “No Identity Left Behind.” Those who don’t have credit, banking history, or a home, and Americans living overseas are traditionally unable to verify their digital identity. ID.me provides 24/7 customer service and multiple pathways for people to verify their identity online: automated self-service, video chat, and in-person.
Kohno’s years of studying the security and privacy of everyday and emerging technologies, including the risks of smart home technologies and web tracking, will benefit ID.me – a security and privacy-first company that has built rigorous security and privacy requirements into its technology from inception and is committed to supporting users’ rights to their personal information. Furthering that commitment, the company has also established a Privacy Bill of Rights. All research conducted and released by ID.me will be reviewed and validated by Kohno.
About ID.me
The ID.me secure digital identity network has over 90 million users with over 125,000 new people joining on average daily (May 1, 2021 – April 30, 2022), as well as partnerships with 30 states, 10 federal agencies, and over 500 name-brand retailers. The company provides identity proofing, authentication and group affiliation verification for organizations across sectors. The company’s technology meets the federal standards for consumer authentication and is approved as a NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 / AAL2 conformant credential service provider by the Kantara Initiative. ID.me’s Identity Gateway also has a Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate Authority to Operate (ATO). ID.me is the only provider with video chat and is committed to “No Identity Left Behind” to enable all people to have a secure digital identity.
To learn more, visit https://www.ID.me/.
