Meanwhile, federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) are raising expectations for stronger identity assurance. This new requirement pushes institutions towards deadlines, making identity proofing a pressing priority, and most campuses are still figuring out where to start.
At the upcoming 2026 Internet2 Community Exchange(CommEX26), two events will help you soak up insights on identity proofing, understand its significance, and move the conversation and your institution’s readiness plan forward.
Attend the pre-conference workshop and CommEX panel session if you want to:
- Understand what identity assurance is, and why it is non-negotiable.
- Learn why it is an escalating priority for R&E.
- Articulate the distinction between authentication and identity assurance.
- Leave with a practical starting point towards the 2027 federal deadline.
Who should be in the room for these events:
- CIOs, CISOs, and IT Leadership
- IAM leaders
- Research computing and data stewards
- R&E security practitioners
- Risk/compliance practitioners
- Anyone involved in credential issuance, onboarding, and recovery workflows
Monday’s Pre-Conference Kickoff
This first event requires you to roll up your sleeves to jump-start your week.
Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up: Practical Strategies for Improving Higher-Ed Identity Proofing is a pre-conference workshop occurring Monday, April 13, 1:00–4:30 p.m. CT.
In this half-day event, you and your team take a critical look at identity access at your institution and examine the tools and frameworks needed to plan your next steps.
You’ll assess your current processes and infrastructure, identify what you can reuse or expand, and build a phased implementation plan tailored for your institution’s primary use case.
Leave this workshop with a lightweight roadmap, vendor evaluation criteria, and strategies you can use right away.
Please keep in mind that separate registration is required for this workshop.
Beyond Authentication: A General Session
The second event at CommEX26 that is focused on identity proofing takes place on Wednesday, April 15, 11–11:50 a.m. CT.
Join three experts in research and higher education (R&E) identity when you attend Beyond Authentication: When Secure Access Demands Identity Proofing.
They will unpack what’s driving the identity assurance conversation in higher education, the institutional fraud landscape, and community resources already in motion to help institutions prepare for uncertainty and challenges as they understand what NIH readiness means.
Kyle Lewis, vice president of Cybersecurity Strategy at Research Data and Communication Technologies, will break down identity proofing in plain language and explain why this recent federal decision carries real weight for colleges, universities, and research institutions.
Jack Suess, vice president of Information Technology and chief information officer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will make the case through real use cases that identity proofing isn’t just a compliance problem; it is a fraud-prevention strategy that, if ignored, has real costs.
Ann West, senior director of Strategic Partnerships & Research at InCommon, will close the loop by sharing what Internet2 is doing to help, the status update on a NET+ community-vetted identity proofing solution, and the NIH Identity Proofing Accelerator, an 8-week peer workshop consisting of shared frameworks and readiness tools built to help you understand where you are, equipping you with knowledge and tools to sharpen your institutional strategy.
CommEX26 is Your Identity Proofing Onramp
Think of the workshop as your deep dive and the general session as your reinforcement.
Attend CommEX26 to gain clarity on identity proofing and strengthen your institutional security practices. Then, plug into our broader identity proofing resources to keep your momentum going.