Australia
A nationally interoperable ecosystem of digital identity credentials has taken a step forward after a key meeting of state and federal data and digital ministers agreed to a “nationally coordinated approach.”
According to the Data and Digital Ministers Meeting held in Melbourne on Friday, a “nationally coordinated approach giving Australians access and control over the use of digital IDs, and making it easy for citizens to deal with government” is now a common goal and has been deemed “vital to success” to harmonising standards and credentials.
Global
In 2023, Thales plans to hire more than 12,0001 new employees to support its growth in its three core markets: Aerospace, Defence and Security, and Digital Identity and Security.
The Group will be hiring all over the world, and expects to take on 5,500 new employees in France, 1,050 in the United Kingdom, 600 in Australia, 550 in India and 540 in the United States.
Dubai
H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has launched the ‘Emirati’ initiative, a comprehensive single-window platform designed to offer UAE citizens city services through the DubaiNow application.
“By enhancing Dubai’s digital transformation, we seek to further consolidate the city’s digital economy and provide innovative smart services that help raise the wellbeing of all UAE citizens,” he said. “The ‘Emirati’ initiative, which offers a comprehensive, easily accessible, secure and seamless digital platform for providing services for citizens, further strengthens Dubai’s position as a city of the future and enhances the quality of life in the emirate.”
India
Mumbai-based CPaaS (Communication Platform as a Service) provider Route Mobile has launched TruSense, a digital identity and security suite for securing digital transactions.
TruSense Identity Limited will function as a dedicated Strategic Business Unit (SBU) under Route Mobile (UK) Ltd. with its own product management and engineering development teams. The teams will be focused on building products using expertise and technology from Route Mobile Limited and Masivian S.A.S. — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Route Mobile (UK) Ltd.
United States
The US federal government’s Login .gov digital identity service could be expanded nationally, according to the terms of a draft executive order.
The draft US White House order obtained by federal technology title FCW tasks the General Services Administration (GSA) with scaling up its Login .gov identity verification and authentication service – which enables users to access numerous government services using a single login – increasing its reach to the whole country.
Under the order, which cannot become policy until it is signed by president Joe Biden and has yet to be released by the White House, users of public benefits programmes would be given the option to use Login .gov or a digital ID platform run by the individual agency. The order is part of the federal government’s ambition to reduce instances of fraud in its benefits system.
Government agencies would be able to offer private sector digital ID options, as the Department of Veterans Affairs already does alongside Login .gov.
In addition to its use for access to benefits programmes, agencies that offer services defined by the US Office of Management and Budget as “high impact” – such as tax programmes, passport renewal, Medicare and the census, which are used by millions of Americans each year – would need to include Login .gov it as a sign-on and identity verification option.
United States
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is looking for technology information from qualified vendors of identity, credential and access management systems.
The NIH’s Center for Information Technology has issued a request for information about the possibility of deploying identity security and management as a service. The center is a part of the NIH’s National Library of Medicine.
Officials are reportedly considering outsourcing web authentication, directory services and secure access service edge, or SASE, services.
Zimbabwe / South Africa
Zimbabwean blockchain startup, Flex ID. and South African WhatsApp-based remittance platform, Uhuru Wallet, have announced the launch of an ‘integrated digital identity and remittance platform’ targeting millions of Zimbabwean immigrants residing in South Africa.
The two startups termed this as the first cross-chain collaboration.
Flex ID, co-founded by serial entrepreneur, Victor Mapunga, works on the Algorand blockchain, while Uhuru Wallet is built on the Stellar blockchain.
“We are excited to partner with FlexID to offer our customers a more streamlined and secure remittance experience. By combining our strengths in digital identity and remittance services, we can better serve the needs of Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa,” said Uhuru Wallet CEO and founder, Trust Jakarasi.
