LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, is rolling out a free verification system which will allow users to prove their identity and place of work. Verification options include the ability to use CLEAR to prove your identity, verifying your workplace via email address, and Microsoft’s Entra Verified ID platform to get free workplace credentials digital.
Unlike Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you won’t need to pay for verifications to appear on your LinkedIn profile. You can verify your workplace simply by using a company-issued email address or through Microsoft Entra if your organization is already using Entra.
If you want to verify your own identity, LinkedIn has partnered with CLEAR to allow you to securely confirm your identity. If you’re using CLEAR, then you’ll be able to show that your identity is verified on your LinkedIn profile, using a US government-issued ID and US phone number.
LinkedIn goes highlight checks with a green and blue checkmark on profiles, but it doesn’t seem to go beyond offering a badge that appears next to your name on LinkedIn.
Company email verification is now available to all LinkedIn users, provided they work at over 4,000 supported companies. Microsoft Entra verification is rolling out in late April initially to 2 million LinkedIn members.
As more organizations use cloud technology and hiring has often taken place remotely over the past pandemic years, the need for online credential verification is evident. Microsoft worked on their own Entra Verified ID system which is now used by LinkedIn, and it’s all based on open standards, so it can work on a variety of HR and ID systems.
“Online authenticity has never been more important,” says Alex Weinert, vice president of identity security at Microsoft, in an interview with The edge. “We’ve seen a steady increase in fraudulent presentations with people pretending to be people they’re not in all sorts of different guises. You really want to know that if you interact with someone who says they are employed by a certain company or represent a certain company, you can trust who they say they are. The need is quite clear.
Microsoft Entra also goes beyond LinkedIn. Verified digital IDs can be used for background checks, loan applications, rewards programs and more. The system should speed up onboarding into new jobs, especially since you can verify your skills and qualifications and use them in multiple jobs and companies to hopefully avoid that rigorous security check when you join a company. for the first time.
The system relies on a decentralized identity and trust model that involves an issuer, a holder and a verifier. Organizations can issue cryptographically signed digital IDs, which employees can then use to prove they work for a company and get basic discounts or even prove they’re employed to get approved for a loan. Microsoft wants to push this kind of system to even more places where verification and trust are needed.
“This is just the beginning,” says Joy Chik, president of network identity and access at Microsoft. “Verified credentials can increase trust, authenticity, and verifiability while reducing cost, time, and friction in many scenarios.”