CAO Training - Level 1

Overview

As notaries, we have been trained to establish an individual’s identity by using specific pieces of evidence supporting a client's identity claim. That's become an important skill as the world's information and communication have rapidly become paperless, digital - and lacking in the kind of accountability that notaries have historically provided. As a result, the world is suffering an epidemic of rampant digital fraud. There is an increasing demand for organizations to understand who has access to their networks as well as understand that the person who is given access is whom they say they are with a measurably reliable degree.

The Council of Attestation Officers (CAO), an enterprise of The Authenticity Institute (TAI), has taken on the challenge and responsibility to provide Identity Attestation services to organizations to address this issue. To address this challenge, CAO has created the role of the Attestation Officer (AO) who is an experienced notary that can perform the necessary review to attest to the identity of an individual.

Consequently, as a trained Attestation Officer you'll be the key to reversing that ominous trend. You'll use TAI-developed video tools to conduct and record the Attestation session with an Affiant who will present different Evidence of Identity (EOI) items for examination and confirmation to support their identity claim. In addition, you’ll also administer and capture the Affiant’s Oath of Identity. During the Attestation process, an Identity Quality (IDQA) scoring system helps further quantify the reliability of the Affiant’s identity. The principles are the same as with any administration of an oath, except that the certificate is digital versus the customary paper certificate or jurat.

Before conducting the Attestation Session, each Affiant will complete a self-enrollment process which results in a digitally signed credential in their device (desktop, laptop, mobile device). This credential will be further substantiated by presenting additional EOIs during the Attestation process described above. The Attestation review result typically increases the Affiant’s IDQA score based on the EOIs submitted and verified. The Attestation Officer retains a digital record of the session as well as a link to the Affiant’s digital certificate if the Affiant’s device is lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair.

The retention of a digital record of the Attestation session by the Attestation Officer establishes a client relationship that is not tied to a one-off signing of a mortgage or some other event. Since the Attestation Officer is maintaining the electronic record for their client as well as providing a backup for the universal certificate, the client will need to pay an annual escrow fee for that service.

 

The Council of Attestation Offices

The Council of Attestation Officers was founded in 2014 to:

• Work closely with the City of Osmio, TAI’s central Certification Authority (CA) located in Geneva, Switzerland, and the other enterprises of the Authenticity Alliance to establish and maintain standards for the practice of Attestation of Identity.
• The City of Osmio was chartered on March 7, 2005, at the Geneva headquarters of the International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency. On that day, the responsibility for the ITU’s World e-Trust Initiative was passed from the ITU to Osmio.
• The Authenticity Alliance consists of organizations that have agreed to adhere to the ordinances of the City of Osmio in offering their services.
• Provide access to training resources for notaries who want to become Attestation Officers
• Provide a facility where notaries can share information about their practice, particularly as the world moves from paper documents into the paperless age
• Provide Attestation Officers with tools for gathering evidence supporting an enrollee’s identity claim and recording that evidence of identity (EOI) in the enrollee’s identity quality record.

 

Becoming an Attestation Officer?

Attestation Officers must first be experienced RON notaries. Different states have different regulations, but Virginia RON notaries can perform notary procedures anywhere in the world.

An Attestation Officer candidate will need to take the Attestation Officer Certification program offered through Authenticity University. This certification program is structured to explain the concepts of authenticity and the importance of establishing accountability through measurably reliable identities.

As an Attestation Officer, you’ll need to go through the established “Self-Enrollment” process and an Attestation Session with an Oath of Identity just like any other Affiant.

 

Attestation Officer Training

To prepare you to become an Attestation Officer, CAO has developed the following training materials to provide:

1.       Understanding of Authenticity concepts

2.       Affiant Self Enrollment process

3.       Attestation Session Requirements for Attestation Officer Candidates

4.       Identity Quality Techniques (NIST versus IDQA)

5.       Benefits to the Affiant

6.       Description of the Attestation Process and supporting tools

7.       Scheduling, billing, and other administrative processes

8.       Attestation Points to Ponder – a series of Frequently Asked Questions

The training materials are provided through the Authenticity University’s site which can be found at https://authenticity.ac/

More information on the City of Osmio can be found at https://osmio.ch

The Council of Attestation Officers website URL is https://attestation.pro/

In addition, Authenticity related branded items are available through the Authenticity Store at https://authenticity.store/