1Kosmos Named in Three 2026 Gartner® Hype Cycle Reports for Government and Financial Services

1Kosmos was recently mentioned in these 2026 Hype Cycle reports:

• Gartner Hype Cycle for Government Tax and Revenue, 2026

• Gartner Hype Cycle for Human and Social Services in Government, 2026

• Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Banking Transformation, 2026

Government leaders are under pressure to modernize services, reduce fraud, and keep digital experiences accessible. At the same time, expectations keep rising for faster digital interactions, stronger safeguards, and measurable program outcomes. Gartner® Hype Cycle reports help CIOs and technology leaders understand what is maturing, what is emerging, and where to focus next.

In that spirit, we’re sharing a few verbatim takeaways from two 2026 reports we have on hand, plus our perspective on where identity assurance fits into the day-to-day realities of taxpayer services and human and social services programs.

Gartner Hype Cycle for Government Tax and Revenue, 2026

Tax and revenue agencies are balancing service modernization with rising fraud pressure, while many still run systems that are difficult to change quickly.

Gartner frames the priorities in practical terms:

• “Innovating taxpayer services and experience. Authorities are improving digital touchpoints and advancing automation through prefilled forms and integration with digital identity, payments and other parts of digital public infrastructure (DPI).”

• “Raising compliance to reduce tax gaps. Tax authorities are investing in analytics, AI and real-time reporting capabilities to combat fraud and increase audit efficiency.”

• “Modernizing core systems and platforms. Most tax and revenue authorities around the world run custom-built IT systems that are becoming hard to update for new policy needs.”

1Kosmos mention: Workforce identity impersonation detection

In this report, 1Kosmos is listed as a sample vendor under workforce identity impersonation detection.

This area focuses on preventing attackers from impersonating employees in social engineering and account recovery scenarios. Service desks, contractors, and distributed teams create real pathways for fraud, especially when access to sensitive systems or taxpayer data is involved.

“Sample Vendors 1Kosmos; HYPR; Imper.ai; iProov; Microsoft; Nametag; Ping Identity; Prove; TechJutsu; Trusona”

From our perspective

Tax and revenue digital services depend on trust at the moments that carry the most risk, including onboarding, account recovery, credential resets, and high-risk changes. Strong identity assurance supports faster service for legitimate users and tighter controls for bad actors. For many agencies, the best starting point is narrowing scope to the workflows that drive the most fraud and operational cost.

Gartner Hype Cycle for Human and Social Services in Government, 2026

Human and social services agencies are asked to do more with less, while fraud prevention and secure access remain non-negotiable.

Gartner notes:

• “This trend is driven by government mandates to improve efficiency and reduce costs… As AI becomes a dominant technology, government CIOs face heightened expectations to unlock its full value.”

• “This theme in the 2026 Hype Cycle focuses on preventive protection rather than reactive recovery for fraud, waste and abuse (FWA). Technologies such as program integrity analytics, identity verification and AI-enabled fraud detection allow governments to be more proactive in combating FWA.”

• “Predictive analytics, identity verification and data streaming have matured into the Plateau of Productivity, indicating mainstream application.”

1Kosmos mention: Identity verification in government

1Kosmos is listed as a sample vendor in the report’s coverage of identity verification in government.

This is a core building block for digital public services because it supports remote onboarding and step-up checks for higher-risk moments. For human services programs, it can help protect benefits and personal data while keeping access straightforward for legitimate constituents.

“Sample Vendors 1Kosmos ; Daon ; Entrust ; IDEMIA ; ID.me ; IDnow ; Signicat ; Nect ; Thales ; Veridas”

A 2nd mention: Decentralized identity

1Kosmos is also listed as a sample vendor under decentralized identity.

For agencies, decentralized identity and verifiable credentials can support portable, privacy-aware ways to prove eligibility or attributes across systems. This becomes more relevant when programs span departments, partners, or jurisdictions, and when agencies want fewer repeated proofs without lowering assurance.

“Sample Vendors 1Kosmos ; Avast ; IBM ; IDRamp ; Interac ; Lissi ; Microsoft ; Ping Identity ; Scytales”

From our perspective

For human and social services, identity is not a standalone project. It is a practical enabler for secure self-service, safer case workflows, and stronger program integrity.

The best results come when identity controls are aligned to real program journeys, including initial access, ongoing eligibility touchpoints, and sensitive changes that can signal fraud.

1Kosmos was also mentioned in the Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Banking Transformation, 2026, which explores emerging and maturing technologies shaping digital banking modernization, including customer experience, fraud and risk, and core platform transformation.

Related analyst research

If you’re exploring adjacent research on passwordless access and identity verification, these two analyst resources may be useful:

KuppingerCole Leadership Compass: Passwordless Authentication for Enterprises

Gartner CISO Edge: Employee Onboarding Identity Verification

Closing thoughts

These reports point to the same operational reality across government: modernization depends on trusted digital access, and fraud prevention increasingly starts earlier in the journey.

For CIOs and program leaders, that often translates into a practical mandate, improve service experiences while raising confidence in who is on the other side of the screen. When identity is designed into onboarding, account recovery, and high-risk changes, teams can protect constituents and public funds without turning every interaction into a barrier.

We appreciate being mentioned by Gartner as a sample vendor in these 2026 reports, and remain focused on helping agencies build digital services that are easier to use, harder to exploit, and ready to scale.

If you’d like a walkthrough

Get in touch for a walkthrough of how 1Kosmos supports high-assurance onboarding, secure account recovery, identity verification, and fraud reduction workflows in your environment.

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Gartner, Hype Cycle for Government Tax and Revenue, 2026 and Hype Cycle for Human and Social Services in Government, 2026 are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.