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SpruceID Blog

Thoughtful perspectives on identity, interoperability, and the systems that turn public policy into usable services.

Accepting a Credential Is Not the Same as Verifying It
Zero Trust

Accepting a Credential Is Not the Same as Verifying It

Reading data fields from a digital credential is not verification. Without cryptographic validation of the issuer's signature, revocation status, and device binding, a digital credential offers less assurance than a physical ID.
What Would It Actually Take for a State to Implement SEDI?
Digital Identity

What Would It Actually Take for a State to Implement SEDI?

Adopting SEDI-style legislation is only the beginning. States need governance, trust infrastructure, credential issuance, wallet interoperability, conformance processes, and a deployment strategy across agencies.
How Intelligent Document Processing Is Changing Government Intake
Document Intake

How Intelligent Document Processing Is Changing Government Intake

Intelligent document processing can dramatically reduce manual review time for government agencies. But extracting data from documents is not the same as verifying it. The trust problem requires a different solution.
What Does a Bank Need From a State to Verify Its mDL?
Interoperability

What Does a Bank Need From a State to Verify Its mDL?

When a bank receives a mobile driver's license from another state, it needs to verify the issuer's signature. That requires trust infrastructure most banks don't have yet.
Digital Identity Without Surveillance: Understanding SEDI's No-Phone-Home Principle
Zero Trust

Digital Identity Without Surveillance: Understanding SEDI's No-Phone-Home Principle

Utah's SEDI statute prohibits architectures where the issuer can observe every credential presentation. Enforcing that requirement means choosing verification designs where the data is never generated in the first place.
What Is a Trust Framework, and How Does It Decide Who Can Issue and Verify Digital Credentials?
Interoperability

What Is a Trust Framework, and How Does It Decide Who Can Issue and Verify Digital Credentials?

The future of interoperable digital identity depends on more than shared formats and protocols, it depends on the governance layer that defines trust, accountability, and assurance.
Who Authorized This Agent to Pay?
Digital Identity

Who Authorized This Agent to Pay?

When agents initiate payments, the receiving system needs more than authentication. It needs proof of who authorized the transaction, what spending authority was granted, and whether that authority is still valid.
The SEDI Duty of Loyalty, Explained
Digital Identity

The SEDI Duty of Loyalty, Explained

SEDI's Duty of Loyalty moves beyond notice and consent by establishing affirmative obligations toward individuals whose identity data is processed. It draws on academic proposals for fiduciary-like duties in privacy law.
Why Government Digital Transformation Projects Fail
Digital Transformation

Why Government Digital Transformation Projects Fail

Most government digital transformation projects fail not because of bad technology, but because they optimize for launch instead of completion and treat modernization as a portal project instead of an infrastructure investment.
What Is a Customer Identification Program (CIP), and How Do Digital Credentials Change It?
Zero Trust

What Is a Customer Identification Program (CIP), and How Do Digital Credentials Change It?

The Customer Identification Program rule requires banks to verify customer identity at account opening. The FinCEN ruling changes what counts as acceptable evidence.
The FinCEN Ruling Proves Digital Identity Is Financial Infrastructure
Digital Identity

The FinCEN Ruling Proves Digital Identity Is Financial Infrastructure

When federal banking regulators recognize verifiable digital credentials for customer identification, digital identity stops being a government IT project and becomes financial infrastructure.
How to Design HR1 Verification Without Creating a New Identity Barrier
Digital Identity

How to Design HR1 Verification Without Creating a New Identity Barrier

Identity proofing, authentication, evidence verification, and eligibility determination are four different functions. States designing HR1 systems should separate them to protect program integrity without creating new barriers.