Australia
The federal government has issued an open call to businesses interested in participating in Australia’s federated digital identity system ahead of next year’s planned expansion.
The expression of interest (EOI) aims to gauge what services private sector organisations are interested in having accredited under the trusted digital identity framework (TDIF).
It comes as the government prepares to introduce laws that will make it possible for the private sector and state governments to participate in the system, while enshrining privacy protections.
The government had planned to introduce the legislation before the end of 2021, but with parliament finished for the year, this now won’t happen before mid-February 2022.
Employment Minister Stuart Robert last week said the EOI was aimed at “increasing awareness of the [digital identity] system and the accreditation process”.
United States
Identity verification firm Trulioo is launching an expanded service, with US student records added to the company’s GlobalGateway marketplace supporting compliance, know your customer (KYC), and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions.
With the new service, Trulioo customers have the capability to verify the identity of 97 percent of students in the US, totalling some 18.3 million. The expanded verification capabilities can help Gen Z access financial products, since most students have sparse or no credit history.
“Many Gen Zers, and even millennials, often encounter problems opening accounts or getting a loan due to their thin credit files,” said Steve Munford, Trulioo CEO. “The robust network of digital identity services from Trulioo enables organizations to reliably onboard thin-file customers, remain compliant and mitigate fraud and risk, all while providing a seamless experience.”
Global
Onfido has published its 2022 Identity Fraud Report, which reveals a new wave of organised crime entering the marketplace.
Over the past 12 months, 47 percent of all identity document (ID) fraud was classed as ‘medium’ sophisticated fraud, which is a 57 percent increase over the previous year, according to the press release. Less apparent errors, such as visibly incorrect fonts, imitated security features, or the wrong photo printing technique, suggest an increase in fraud rings, says Onfido.
Identity theft losses increased 42 percent in 2020, reaching $712 billion, making digital identity verification critical for enterprises, according to the report. Whether for financial services, retail, or healthcare, verifying that an online user is legitimate and present defines customer trust, and determines if a company is a leader or laggard in the digital economy, the company says.
The report also revealed that passports became the most frequently attacked ID: Over the past year, passports have overtaken National Identity Cards as the most frequently attacked form of identification. This points to a shift in fraudsters’ methods as they choose to target the one-sided passport page, rather than a two-sided ID card, and target the most high-assurance document in the hope that a passport’s reputation will help the fake go undetected.
Germany
Digital identity startup Passbase, which offers SDKs for running remote identity checks, has raised $10 million in Series A funding as it dials up attention on crypto compliance — touting tools to help fintechs with rapidly evolving regulatory requirements.
The funding is led by Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Lakestar, Eniac Ventures, Cowboy Ventures and Seedcamp.
It follows an unannounced $3.5 million seed round — which almost doubled the $3.6 million in seed funding that Berlin-based Passbase raised back in 2019. So the 2018-founded startup’s total raised to date is around $17.7 million.
Czech Republic / United States
Prague-headquartered Avast has announced the acquisition of US-based self-sovereign identity vendor Evernym.
“Our vision for digital freedom is to enable people to manage and retain control over their personal data so that they can interact and transact safely, privately and with confidence. Decentralsed digital identities are a key component of that vision,” said Avast CEO Ondřej Vlček.
“Adding Evernym’s ground-breaking self-sovereign identity technology to our offering enables us to address this area and is a huge step forward in the realisation of a digital world where decentralized, portable identities are available universally and globally,” Vlček added.
Evernym is already embedded in industries such as travel and finance where its technology is at the heart of the IATA (International Air Transport Association) Travel Pass, and also powers Bonifi’s ‘MemberPass’ solution for community financial institutions.
France / Saudi Arabia
France’s Thales has signed a memorandum of understanding with stc (Saudi Telecom Company) to collaborated on a broad range of technologies including digital identity solutions, e-SIMs, national security technologies, smart cities, IoT, payment solutions and 5G satellites, reports Arab News.
The MoU is expected to benefit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia beyond stc, with investment in digital capabilities and research. There is an emphasis on national security technologies, smart cities, digital identity and payments, according to Arab News.
“As the digital enabler in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we are interested in building strategic relationships with strategic partners like Thales and are working together to further our digital transformation leadership goals,” said stc chief business officer Riyadh Muawad. “Through this partnership, we aspire to leverage Thales Group solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, AI, and other digital innovations.”
Thales recently signed a similarly extensive deal with Vietnam’s VNPT to develop the country’s digital transformation, biometrics and security technologies such as smart cities.
