Australia
The government of New South Wales has appointed 18 members to the Digital Identity Ministerial Advisory Council (DIMAC) which it created back in May. The state police expected to have a major say on the Council, reports InnovationAus via Biometric Update.
The appointees include federal and state government officials from different departments, agencies and services; academics; actors from the financial services sector, as well as consultants.
With Digital and Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello designated chairperson and Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott as one of the members, DIMAC is set up to ensure concerns about personal privacy and security are factored into the State’s digital identity ecosystem policy, the outlet states. The body will also support the State in its planned digital identity strategic direction and roadmap.
United States
Shamsh Hadi, CEO of ZorroSign has described his testimony advocating for blockchain that he submitted to a Congressional panel examining digital identity and privacy issues.
“The thoughtful and intentional employment of blockchain to safeguard personal data is one way to achieve the dual goal of protecting consumers while at the same time preserving the economic and social benefits of data,” said Hadi, who is also a founding member of the Association for Data and Cyber Governance (ADCG).
The hearing examined how federal and state governments can best set interoperability requirements and standards for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies that can improve modern smartphones’ processing and sensor capabilities and enable the creation of a high quality and privacy-preserving secure digital identity (ID). The hearing also looked at the future of digital identity frameworks, examining how the emerging technologies (including AI, blockchain, and other distributed ledger technology) could contribute to building digital ID.
“Blockchain is important because it has unique qualities that set it apart from other transaction database management systems,” noted Hadi in his testimony. “Specifically, blockchain is being used today in private, permissions-based decentralized systems that are secure, trusted and automated with bank grade security. Ultimately, blockchain technology helps make digital transactions more secure, faster and less expensive.”
Argentina
Argentina is advancing in two digital identity projects on blockchain. The projects will be carried out in Misiones, General Pueyrredon, Mar del Plata and the Gran Chaco.
The DIDI or Digital Identity for Inclusion project, promoted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the NGO Bitcoin Argentina, started two digital identity plans based on blockchain in Argentina.
The initiative will be carried out specifically in the Misiones province north of the South American nation and in the municipality of General Pueyrredon, located in the province of Buenos Aires. The intention of the project is develop decentralized digital identities for people in vulnerable situations in the country.
According to the director of the DIDI Project, Javier Madariaga to a local media, the project not only guarantees a secure and private administration of personal information, but also generates a significant reduction in transaction costs and verification of information.
“These are some of the factors that generate significant friction in access to goods and services in modern societies,” he explained.
Australia
Qantas has confirmed it will introduce a digital health pass that would show passengers are Covid-free and fit to fly when regular international travel returns.
The Qantas Group said on Thursday the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass would be used on Qantas and Jetstar international flights and final development work was under way to launch the product once regular international flights resumed.
The app would allow passengers to show proof of their Covid-19 vaccination status and test results to border officials, health officials and airline staff.
It would also match a passenger’s health information against a specific flight and checks the entry requirements of the country they are travelling to and provides clearance for them to travel.
Spain and Germany
The Governments of Spain and Germany recently signed an agreement to develop a joint cross-border pilot programme for digital ID, Planet Storyline reports.
Part of the European Commission’s plan of developing a European digital identity, the new pilot programme will enable citizens to prove their identity and access public and private digital services in both countries.
The ‘open and decentralised’ identity ecosystem pilot, which is open for other EU countries to join, will be reportedly utilized in a variety of sectors, including tourism, e-commerce, and banking.
More than 60 German institutions are already part of the country’s national digital identity ecosystem, which is based on the principles of self-sovereign identity (SSI).
Estonia
A hacker recently has stolen more than 280,000 personal identity photos of citizens, together with their personal names and ID codes in Estonia.
The news was reported by ERR, and allegedly saw the malicious actor, apparently residing in Tallinn, hack into Estonia’s state information system, then perpetrate the crime using a malware network and forged digital certification.
However, according to Oskar Gross, head of the central criminal police cybercrime office, the hacker was not able to access digital state services with the stolen data. The hacker was found and the materials confiscated. Individuals whose photos were stolen have been notified.
Tanzania
The government of Tanzania has been advised to put in place the necessary data protection and oversight regulation in order to avoid a situation where citizens are unable to access certain public and private services in the country through digital ID. This call comes as there have been reports that the country plans to make its national ID card the exclusive official identity document.
People described as ‘stateless’ in Zimbabwe are also reported to be going through excessive difficulties accessing public services or in their efforts to establish a legal ID.
Co-director of the African Law and Technology Institute, Patricia Boshe, said that an improperly regulated ID system could portend danger for citizens and create more problems than it intended to resolve.
South Korea
South Korea’s Ministry of Interior and Safety says it will soon be possible for citizens to verify ID cards through their smartphones using an administrative service app run by the government, writes Korea Bizwire, via Biometric Update.
According to the Ministry, the necessary infrastructure will be built within the first six months of next year so that citizens can confirm their identity using their phones, without the need to present physical ID cards, the report notes.
This mobile verification, authorities say, can be done by the individual simply showing basic information from their cards such as name, resident registration number, address and the card issuing agency.
While the government has given assurances about the safety and privacy of data used via the service, it has disclosed that the mobile digital ID verification will be used mostly for drinking age checks, the submission of civil documents, during boarding for air and sea travel, as well as other private transactions.
Indonesia
A World Bank report has called on Indonesian authorities to match the country’s status of the fastest growing digital economy in South East Asia with efforts to ensure more citizens get access to digital technologies which are beneficial to them.
The World Bank report suggests three things which Indonesia must do in order to leverage digital inclusion. These include boosting digital connectivity and universalizing access to high quality internet, ensuring that the digital economy works for and benefits all, and using digital technologies to provide improved public services to citizens.
The report also calls on Indonesia to close the internet divide between urban and rural communities as well as put in place a national digital ID framework that will enable citizens to prove their identity online seamlessly and securely.
Kenya
A publication by Research ICT Africa (RIA) within the framework of its BIO-ID project, which monitors the digital ID systems in 10 African countries, has examined the shortcomings of the Huduma Namba system in Kenya and suggested ways in which it can be improved.
According to the RIA’s findings, there is the need for Kenya to focus registration for the digital identity among poor and marginalised people who are said to constitute the largest percentage of those who lack legal identification documents.
Kenya, the report adds, must not focus only on numbers but adopt a more holistic and inclusive approach which also factors in issues around human rights such as being able to protect people from the dangers that may arise from the use of their identity data.
