Know Your Agent Operating System extends DIF's open identity standards across the full range of agentic protocols; new members join the Trusted AI Agents Working Group (TAAWG) as interest accelerates globally
Seattle, WA - Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) today announced the renaming of the agentic identity framework, donated to DIF by Vouched, a leader in identity verification and agentic identity infrastructure. The specification, donated in March 2026, will advance under a new name: Know Your Agent Operating System (KYA-OS). The new name reflects the framework's scope as an identity and delegation standard for the full range of agentic protocols, extending well beyond MCP. The framework is being developed under open, community-driven governance through the KYA-OS Task Force within DIF's Trusted AI Agents Working Group.
The announcement comes as agentic identity has moved from a technical concern to a broad industry priority. During a recent tour of Asia, DIF Executive Director Grace Rachmany found that organizations in China and Korea were independently raising MCP-I in conversations about the future of secure agentic AI–a signal that the challenge of agent identity is being felt across markets and organizational types. Since Vouched donated the framework, DIF has also welcomed a meaningful increase in new member organizations joining specifically to participate in its Trusted Agentic AI Working Group (TAAWG).
“We are seeing organizations from across the globe come to DIF because they want to be part of building the answer to agentic identity. It is widely understood that centralized identity solutions break down for cross-organizational Agentic AI, and that the DID and VC standards are a logical starting point for Agentic AI Identity.” said Grace Rachmany, Executive Director at DIF. “KYA-OS gives that work a name that reflects its true scope. The framework Vouched donated is a well-designed specification relevant to any Agentic AI protocol, and particularly relevant for cross-organizational Agentic communication.”
Standards developed in DIF are developed through collaborative effort, which means that KYA-OS moves beyond belonging to any one company or supporting any one protocol. DIF’s Trusted Agents Working Group (TAAWG) has already created a KYA-OS task force of multiple organizations collaborating both to refine the specification and to develop prototypes based on the specification.
A Standard for MCP and More
KYA-OS uses Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) to give agents cryptographically verifiable identities, represent delegation as tamper-evident credentials with explicit scope, and enable verification across organizational boundaries without requiring prior coordination between parties.
KYA-OS defines three conformance levels to support adoption across organizations of different sizes and security requirements:
- Level 1: Foundational support using existing identifiers (OIDC, JWT) for immediate implementation.
- Level 2: Full DID verification, credential-based delegation, and revocation support.
- Level 3: Enterprise-grade lifecycle management, immutable auditing, and full bilateral KYA-OS awareness.
Early demonstrations have shown how KYA-OS enables verified agents to complete purchases on behalf of consumers, with full verification of which agent is acting, who the human buyer is, and that the necessary permissions have been granted. The result is commerce that is both more seamless for users and more secure for merchants.
“When we built this framework, we knew the identity challenge wasn’t specific to MCP. It’s a challenge for every agentic system,” said Rosalyn Curato, Chief Innovation Officer and GM of Agentic Security at Vouched. “We donated it to DIF because open standards are how industries solve shared problems. Seeing organizations from across the globe join DIF to work on this, and hearing it come up organically in conversations, tells us the industry agrees. KYA-OS is the right name for what this has become.”
KYA-OS is being developed as a starting point for community co-development, with input from participants across the identity, developer, and enterprise communities. Organizations interested in contributing or joining the Trusted AI Agents Working Group can learn more at DIF.
About DIF
The Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) was established to create an IP-protected environment for decentralized identity-related specifications and open-source code development. DIF promotes the use of DIDs, VCs, and related decentralized identity technologies. DIF maintains more than 270 GitHub repositories that have been contributed or developed by members and working Groups. DIF is committed to fostering an environment where decentralized identity technologies can evolve, mature, and achieve widespread adoption through collaborative effort and strategic partnerships across the ecosystem.
About Vouched
Vouched is pioneering the future of identity verification by delivering technology that quickly and securely validates the identities of both AI agents and humans. The recognized leader in identity verification for healthcare, Vouched has expanded its capabilities across financial services, automotive, and other industries. Vouched is writing the next chapter of the CISO playbook to take advantage of digital IDs and to identify software agents. Each month, Vouched verifies millions of identities with unmatched speed, accuracy, and regulatory compliance–accelerating trust in an increasingly digital world.
