Notary TEA's.
Notaries to Serve as Trusted Enrollment Agents.
May 15, 2008
Specially trained notaries to serve as Trusted Enrollment Agents to secure identity credentials used in electronic transactions.
With the Real Estate market in crisis nationwide, Notary Signing Agents are feeling the dramatic effects with few assignments available and smaller signing fees than in years past. Fortunately, due to the business community's demand for secure electronic transactions, opportunities are emerging as notaries will serve a crucial role in the identity credential issuance process.
In the May 2008 edition of The National Notary magazine, The National Notary Association announced that training for the Trusted Enrollment Agents (or notary TEA's) will be available at the NNA's 30th annual conference, May 27-30 in New Orleans.
In simple terms, the notary enrollment agent will certify the identity of individuals involved in secure electronic business transactions, either sending, receiving or handling electronic documents. The trusted notary agent's role will be in the identification required during the issuance process for these individuals. The electronic identity credentials used, typically a PKI digital certificate, allow access to the secure documents.
The credential’s issuance and identification process is crucial to the trust that can be placed in the transaction. Without trusted identity, the security of any associated transactions are faulty. This is where the professional notary as an identity screener, and the all-important human interaction (which is often otherwise limited or eliminated in electronic transactions) proves vital to the process and the integrity of the transactions.
Thus far, two major corporations that handle government contracts will be participating in the NNA's Trusted Enrollment Agent program. SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) and Exostar will pilot the Notary TEA program.
The NNA’s TEA program will opens the doors of opportunity to many notaries who become trained and serve as trusted agents.
Contractors to the Federal Government are typically required to receive federated identity credentials between the public and private sector. The integrity of the network is assured by the accuracy and trust through the application of a federated trust model. This model allows for real-time authentication and revocation.
The National Notary Association is a non-profit professional organization that offers educational training, publications and promotes professional development and best practices for notaries public throughout the United States. The NNA’s Model Notary Act has been influential to state legislators since it was first written in 1974. With over 300,000 members nationwide, the association has been focusing on the advancement of the notary officer’s role in the electronic age in recent years.
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