Global
New research forecasts the global Digital Identity Solutions Market will grow at significant CAGR of +17 percent between 2023 and 2030.
A2z Market Research shows one of the main factors driving the growth of the market is the development of biometric integration in smartphones. In addition, there is a growing demand for authentication methods based on digital identity, such as biometric experience and multi-factor authentication, which are more secure and reliable than passwords.
United Kingdom
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is recruiting for a senior executive to lead a team dedicated to protecting the new One Login system from fraud, as well as a manager to oversee the operation of the live service.
The incoming head of the Threat Intelligence and Counter-Fraud team will manage a unit with that, via a mix of “design, detection and protection” work, will deliver “four critical missions” in support of the creation of government’s new digital identity platform, according to the job advert.
India
Technology, digital identity, and transaction management company eMudhra, has launched its services to issue its own Secured Sockets Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates for large enterprises, IoT manufacturers, SMEs and retail customers.
SSL/TLS Certificates help encrypt every communication on the internet, including in E-commerce websites for secure online transactions, online banking sites, social media and other websites that require login credentials, Email services, online marketplaces, payment gateways, healthcare portals, online government services, mobile applications, OTT streaming portals and apps, API Services including digital public infrastructure services and others.
New Zealand
Most New Zealanders believe it is not easy to protect their information online and they find the idea of being more in control of their digital identity appealing, according to a new Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ) survey just released.
DINZ is a not for profit member association of the New Zealand Tech Alliance. Among other findings, its study found:
- 90 percent of New Zealanders believe it is not easy to protect their information online
- 90 percent of New Zealanders find the idea of being more in control of their digital identity appealing
- 78 percent of New Zealanders are concerned about the protection of their identity and the use of personal data by organisations
- 60 percent of New Zealanders were satisfied with the process of registering personal details with Government agencies in response to the covid pandemic
Europe
Members of the European Parliament’s (MEPs) Industry, Research and Energy Committee have given their support to a new digital identity framework, eID, by 55 votes to 8.
The Framework was proposed in June 2021, and would create an interoperable, EU-wide scheme, allowing all European citizens to use the all-in-one gateway to access public services.
Users will be able to identify and authenticate themselves online via a European digital identity wallet without having to go through commercial providers.
Amendments were also proposed by the MEPs, including making the wallet a tool that can also read and verify electronic documents, and allowing for peer-to-peer interactions. They also proposed measures to strengthen privacy and cybersecurity.
Argentina
London-based identity solution provider Sumsub has published a guide focusing on identity verification and its challenges in five emerging markets: Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Nigeria. Here’s a summary, as per Biometric Update.
The report mentions how Argentina has experienced growth in fintech solutions over the last few years, spurred partly by the Covid pandemic’s effects.
“Crypto and decentralized finance have also taken a special place in Argentina due to the depreciation of the country’s peso and difficulties with foreign currency exchange,” reads the report.
Further, the country’s national digital ID programme (in the making since 2019) has issued around 47 million IDs at the time of writing.
“The digital ID from the Mi Argentina mobile app is now considered fully equivalent to traditional identity documents and can be used to authenticate identities for online services,” Sumsub writes.
Brazil
Sumsub says digitalization is having a clear impact on identity verification in Brazil, mainly thanks to the new form of identity cards introduced by the government that supports QR codes.
“Brazil has [also] been continuously working to minimize money laundering and comply with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),” reads the report.
Still, Sumsub says that online identity fraud remains a problem in the country due to the fact that more than half of documents forged in Brazil do not contain MRZs (machine-readable zones), making them easier to fabricate.
Additionally, access to various digital IDs is performed through different apps, with this lack of standardization and centralization leading to further fraud attempts.
Nigeria
According to Sumsub, Nigeria has become a significant fintech player over the past few years. However, the country is still not a FATF member due to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) system.
The firm says that in 2022, 55.8 percent of all fraud detected worldwide was attributed to five countries, with Nigeria among them (5.4 percent).
Further, like Brazil, Nigeria does not have a consolidated and centralised identity management system. Instead, Nigerian citizens’ data is stored in databases across different government bodies.
“However, [the country] is constantly working on improving the situation,” reads the report. “The latest Mutual Evaluation report taken in 2021 revealed that Nigeria is compliant with seven and largely compliant with 14 of the FATF’s 40 Recommendations.”
India
India is experiencing a rapid increase in digitalisation, mainly driven by its biometrics-based ID system Aadhaar.
Sumsub highlights how the country has been a FATF member since 2010, but various issues, particularly related to money laundering, remain in the country.
“According to the FATF’s evaluation, India is fully compliant with four of the FATF’s recommendations, and either partially compliant or non-compliant with five out of six core recommendations,” reads the report.
Indonesia
Sumsub writes that Indonesia is the largest and fastest-growing digital economy in Southeast Asia.
“More than 95 percent of the Indonesian population has e-KTP cards linked to a government database of citizen identities and biometrics.”
Indonesia is also a FATF ‘observer’ with expectations to become a full member in 2023.
United States
Two tech industry groups are pushing the federal government to take a “technology-neutral approach” to digital identity in a recent letter to top White House leaders.
In a letter, The Software Alliance — also known as BSA — and the Enterprise Cloud Coalition asked top White House actors to “reaffirm” a commitment to “technology neutrality” for digital identity.
The proposal is potentially at odds with the General Services Administration’s plan to have its Login.gov platform be the primary secure sign-on system in government.
The letter also follows language in the explanatory statement from Congress for the latest appropriations omnibus directing the General Services Administration to pursue a “government-wide policy that leverages … multiple credential service providers.”
