August 18, 2020 Identity Verification and Ensuring Trust in On Demand Talent

Topcoder’s VP of Security, John Wheeler, recently appeared on “The Security Guy Radio” podcast as part of the Black Hat USA 2020 virtual summit. John and host Chuck Harold discussed identity verification for remote & open talent workforces in COVID work environments, and how platforms are ensuring trust in on demand talent. Enjoy the conversation and check out a recap below. 

VERIFYING ACCOUNT IDENTITY AND VERIFYING SKILLS

One of the biggest and most relevant topics in security today is identity verification. As John says, “We’ve definitely seen an assault on trust escalate in the last couple of years.” How do you prove that you are who you say you are online? John shares how Topcoder addresses these issues in 2 key ways:

1. Traditional Identity verification – On top of traditional identity verification – where a user creates an account and we verify that user with an email – Topcoder also employs the use of enterprise grade, financial grade ID verification services that verify government issued documents against information that’s provided.

2. Skills verification – Instead of the usual “matchmaking” of talent to need that some other vendors use, Topcoder inverts the problem in that the platform itself is a competition based platform. In order to get outcomes from the platform, people have to prove their capability within competitions.

ENSURING TRUST IN ON DEMAND TALENT

Chuck and John go on to discuss how the broader on demand talent industry addresses identity verification and ensuring trust. John talks about subjective measures, such as user ratings and interviews, as well as tests as a means to determine skills such as software development. 

The conversation ends with a look at where open talent models and identity verification are going. According to John, right now it’s very federated—every platform and provider has their own view, measurements, and metrics. As the world continues to accelerate toward remote work and increased use of on demand talent, we’ll see the evolution of gig workers being able to leverage their skills more easily across multiple platforms. This will afford more opportunity for freelancers and more opportunity for businesses looking to contract talent they know they can trust.

For more conversations about the Future of Work, check out the Uprisor podcast.

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