E-Authentication: Making Trust Possible
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About E-Authentication

E-Authentication is a centerpiece of President Bush's effort to expand electronic government, or E-Government, as a way of making government more effective and efficient and easier for the American people to access.

The E-Authentication service enables you to get access to government services online using log-in IDs (identity credentials) you already have from Web sites that you - and the government - trust.

In order to do important business online, trust is essential:

  • The person using the Internet to do business must be able to trust that the operators of the Web site they are using will protect the information that is being shared.
  • The operators of the Web site must be able to trust that the person they're doing business with really is who they say they are.
Most Web sites that conduct transactions involving the exchange of money and/or personal information require some level of identification when an individual logs on to its site - usually in the form of a log-in ID, such as a PIN or user ID and password, or a digital certificate. This identity credential is a token that embodies the trust between the person who holds it and the Web site that issued it.

By enabling the government to rely on log-in IDs that citizens already have from trusted identity credential issuers (such as Web sites and digital certificate issuers), E-Authentication is providing a simple, convenient, secure way for the American public to access government services via the Internet.

E-Authentication is a government-wide partnership that is supported by the agencies that comprise the Federal CIO Council. The United States General Services Administration (GSA) is the lead agency partner.

To learn more about E-Authentication, please visit www.cio.gov/eauthentication, our Web site containing helpful information and useful resources.