1Kosmos expands Microsoft Entra Verified ID partnership

1Kosmos has expanded its partnership with Microsoft as an Entra Verified ID services and solution partner, with a focus on remote onboarding and digital identity checks.

The arrangement links 1Kosmos identity-proofing tools with Microsoft Entra Verified ID, which issues and verifies digital credentials. The setup is designed to help employers and other organisations verify users before granting access to systems and accounts.

Remote hiring and onboarding have become a growing concern for security teams as companies try to screen out fraudulent applicants, synthetic identities and unauthorised account creation. Businesses that hire and provision staff remotely face risks when identity checks rely on documents or processes that are easy to manipulate.

Under the partnership, 1Kosmos issues verifiable credentials after checking a government identity document against a live biometric selfie and liveness detection. Those credentials can then be used with Microsoft Entra ID and in other technology environments where organisations want stronger checks at the point of account creation or recovery.

The joint setup combines document verification, biometric matching, cryptographic credential binding and passwordless authentication. It also supports account recovery and password reset processes, which can become weak points if attackers persuade service desks or automated systems to trust a false identity.

Remote checks

One focus of the integration is remote onboarding for employees and contractors. In this process, an organisation can verify a person's identity before issuing access, then bind that verified identity to future authentication steps.

The approach is intended to reduce the chance that someone using forged documents, a manipulated video feed or a synthetic identity can obtain a trusted enterprise account. It also reflects a broader shift in corporate security towards verifying users at the start of the identity lifecycle rather than only at login.

Microsoft Entra Verified ID is part of the company's broader identity and access management portfolio. As a services and solution partner, 1Kosmos joins the group of companies building identity verification workflows around Microsoft's credential framework.

According to the companies, the 1Kosmos platform is also listed on the Microsoft Security Store. Its use cases extend beyond Microsoft's native environment to systems such as Mac and Linux devices, virtual private networks, privileged access management tools and some legacy systems.

Fraud pressure

The announcement comes as security and human resources teams face growing scrutiny over remote recruitment practices. Concerns have increased over candidates using stolen documents, false personas or stand-ins during interviews and onboarding, particularly in sectors where remote work and outsourced hiring are common.

Identity vendors have responded by combining document checks with biometric verification and anti-spoofing measures. Standards and certifications have also become more prominent in procurement decisions, especially where employers want evidence that a product has been tested for liveness detection and identity assurance.

1Kosmos said its service supports checks aligned with ISO/IEC 30107-3 and NIST IAL2/AAL2 benchmarks. These standards are commonly cited in digital identity programmes that need stronger proof that a user is both real and correctly matched to a claimed identity.

The New Jersey-based company says it conducts millions of authentications each day across sectors including banking, telecommunications, healthcare, retail and technology services. It has raised more than USD $72 million in venture funding.

For Microsoft customers, the practical appeal of this type of partnership is the ability to link third-party identity proofing with account issuance and recovery inside an existing access management estate. That matters for organisations that need to support a mix of cloud services, on-premises directories and endpoints outside a single vendor's default passwordless coverage.

Another area highlighted by 1Kosmos is biometric-backed authentication in restricted environments such as kiosks and shared workstations. These settings can be difficult to secure with conventional passwords or mobile-based sign-in methods because devices are shared and user turnover is high.

Mike Engle, Chief Strategy Officer at 1Kosmos, commented on the expanded relationship with Microsoft.

"Becoming a Microsoft Entra Verified ID partner reinforces our commitment to delivering the most secure and convenient identity solutions for employee onboarding," said Mike Engle, Chief Strategy Officer at 1Kosmos.

"This partnership provides organizations with a powerful, standards-based approach to remote onboarding and digital trust, ensuring robust and frictionless identity verification and authentication across their environments," Engle said.

Microsoft framed the tie-up as part of a broader partner model for identity verification and account recovery.

"Strong partner ecosystems give customers the flexibility to choose the solutions that best meet their needs," said Ankur Patel, Partner Group Product Manager at Microsoft.

"We're pleased to see 1Kosmos join the expanding set of identity verification partners supporting secure, high-assurance account recovery," Patel said.