IBM, LexisNexis and the Secret Service are among a group of corporations, government agencies and academic institutions that has formed to study and help solve identity management challenges around cybercrime, terrorism and narcotics trafficking.

The Center for Applied Identity Management Research (CAIMR) will study those issues and focus on developing real-world tools and best-practices recommendations to solve them.

The nonprofit research organization, which will be headquartered at Indiana University, brings together experts in criminal justice, financial crime, biometrics, cybercrime and cyberdefense, data protection, homeland security and national defense.

CAIMR will examine the challenges, knowledge gaps and research needed to solve identity issues in areas such as individual privacy, cybersecurity, and data breaches, and outline how those issues effect public safety, commerce, government programs and national security.

Gary R. Gordon, a senior scholar in identity management at Indiana University School of Law will be CAIMR's executive director.

In a statement, Michael Merritt, assistant director in the office of investigations for the U.S. Secret Service, said "Successfully combating emerging identity crimes requires that the Secret Service and law enforcement forge and enhance partnerships with industry, academic and research organizations."

The group has laid out four initial areas of study:

* Public safety, which includes identity theft, cybercrime, computer crime, organized criminal groups, document fraud and sexual predator detection.

* National security, including cybersecurity and cyberdefense, human trafficking and illegal immigration, terrorist tracking and financing.

* Financial and corporate fraud, including mortgage fraud and other financial crimes, data breaches, e-commerce fraud, insider threats and healthcare fraud.

* Individual protection, including identity theft and fraud.

CAIMR's founding members include Indiana University, the Secret Service, LexisNexis, IBM, Cogent Systems, Visa and Intersections, Inc.

Other members of CAIMR are Fair Isaac, University of Texas at Austin, Wells Fargo & Company, U.S. Marshals Service, Dragnet Solutions, ID Experts, Identity Theft Assistance Corporation, Information Technology Association of America, and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.