Global
The digital identity solutions market is expected to record a valuation of $60.88 billion by 2027, accelerate at a 15.9 percent CAGR, according to the most recent study by Brandessence Market Research.
The report says the new way of doing business and maintaining social distances and such practices have helped in the development of the digital identity solutions which could help the employees work remotely. This trend was helped by the internet penetration as people increased their use of digital solutions like the cloud that drove the need for measures of cybersecurity.
Zimbabwe
Blockchain startup, Flexid Technologies, has made its digital identity solution available to 15,000 households and 50,000 patients that took part in a Zimbabwean baseline survey. The survey was conducted between 2021 and early 2022 by a local healthcare provider, Ubuntu Clinic.
“We believe that harnessing the power of technology in the healthcare sector is paramount in driving cost down and most importantly improving patient outcomes,” said Flexid Technologies CEO and co-founder, Victor.
Mapunga suggested the survey findings would be helpful in shaping his company’s blockchain-enabled digital identity solution for patients and health workers not only in Zimbabwe but across the African continent.
Based on the Algorand blockchain, Singapore-registered Flexid Technologies’ digital identity solution allows users to instantly authenticate a patient’s medical data. Mapunga also argued that using the blockchain to store the data protects against common problems like identity theft or corruption of data.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers have given clearance to create a digital identity for every citizen backed by Indian finance. Sri Lanka activists had previously gone to court against the creation of digital database of citizens with ‘family tree’ and other data saying it will give the island’s authoritative government unlimited powers to track citizens and invade their privacy.
People protested the setting up of a “database with comprehensive data, profiling every citizen, containing entire family trees and giving “virtually unrestricted access to any information concerning any citizen recorded with any public authority”.
Africa
An Africa-Europe Digital for Development (D4D) Hub Multi-Stakeholder Forum, which took place recently, has underlined the need for partnerships that will help power Africa’s digital transformation agenda and enable the putting in place of digital ID ecosystems across the continent.
The forum followed the sixth EU-AU summit which took place in Brussels and saw European leaders pledge a €150 billion (approximately $165 billion) investment package, which aims among other things to spur Africa’s sustainable digital transformation forward.
Vietnam
Vietnam’s Police Department for administrative management of social order (C06) announced 25 governmental services are now available to citizens online.
These include six out of eleven level-four public services offered by the Public Security Ministry and two by Vietnam Electricity.
The Vietnamese government has also confirmed all provinces and cities across the country now accept registration for an online ID account, an initiative part of Project No.06, designed to facilitate the digitalization of governmental infrastructure.
The project has reportedly seen the digitalization of a number of citizens’ documents, including vaccination records, social assistance information, and investigation and procedural activity.
United Arab Emirates
Dubai has announced a fingerprint collection plan. As reported by Gulf Today, the new system will see the collection of all of Dubai resident’s fingerprint biometrics to enable accurate investigation procedures.
The data will also be integrated into a new biometric center to facilitate investigation procedures in regard to criminal evidence databases.
Turkey
The Turkish Minister of Interior, Taoufik Charfeddine, has participated in a meeting regarding the country’s newly released biometric identification card and passport system, IFM reports.
At the meeting, experts discussed the necessary precautions in relation to the deployment of the biometric system, as well as the organisational, technical, and legal measures to be taken to begin its implementation.
United States
Apple has launched digital state IDs in the iPhone Wallet app, beginning with those issued by the state of Arizona.
As of March 23, anyone with an Arizona-issued driver’s license or ID can convert the physical card into a digital version directly on an iPhone. Once converted, the digital ID can be used at select TSA security checkpoints at the Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) airport.
Global
Device Authority and Entrust have partnered to help businesses remove the logistical challenges of large scale IoT deployment by offering automated Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate management.
The two companies have integrated Device Authority’s KeyScaler IoT IAM platform with PKI services from Entrust, extending the existing collaboration for Hardware Security Module (HSM) services, to provide device trust, data trust and automation at IoT scale. This will enable security operations across device attestation, onboarding, Machine Identity Lifecycle Management, certificate signing and cryptographic operations, connecting to FIPs compliant Entrust PKI and HSM services. It will also automate security operations into any cloud application & platform by utilizing KeyScaler’s pre-built service connectors or flexible integration framework.
Canada
Avast has followed up its acquisition of Evernym by picking up Canada-based digital identity and authentication provider SecureKey Technologies.
SecureKey specialises in providing verifiable credentials for enhanced privacy when accessing online services through explicit end-user consent.
Estonia / Belgium
iProov’s biometric verification and authentication services module has received the highest assurance level of the European Union’s eIDAS certification after testing by the TÜV Group. The certification means iProov can supply onboarding and authentication services to Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSPs) in the EU and UK without further integration audits being required.
The module had already been integrated by itsme, the providers of Belgium’s digital identity app, and by SK ID Solutions for Estonia’s state-certified digital identity solution, SmartID. They had previously needed to have their whole service audited, including the iProov biometrics module.
“For the first time, providers of Qualified Signatures can break free of video interviews,” said Andrew Bud, founder and CEO of iProov.
