Global
The Alan Turing Institute has been awarded a $4 million grant covering by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help countries achieve “secure, private, and trustworthy” digital public infrastructure (DPI).
The three year project aims to build upon the existing efforts of the partnership to establish trustworthy digital infrastructure systems and increase the scope of their work beyond digital identity to include secure and privacy-preserving data exchange, credentialling, and electronic signature mechanisms for paperless and cashless digital economic growth.
The work will focus on five key challenge areas:
- Uncovering and mitigating of risks and threats facing digital infrastructure systems
- Developing trust mechanisms to allow digital ID technologies to facilitate cross-border trade and interoperability
- Improvement of methods that enable secure and private sharing of data with user consent and safeguards
- Increasing knowledge, skills, and suitability of tools to facilitate the design, development, and assessment of trustworthy identity systems
- Supporting countries to understand, evaluate and mitigate cyber risks in digital systems
During this period, the researchers will launch a Digital Identity Cyber Threats Observatory which will monitor professional media and forums, vulnerability databases and the dark web to identify emerging cyber threats, risks and incidents that are directly relevant, or closely related to the national digital identity community.
United States
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a collaborative project to adapt its digital identity guidelines to support public benefits programmes, such as those designed to help beneficiaries pay for food, housing, medical and other basic living expenses.
NIST will work with the Digital Benefits Network (DBN) at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and the nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) “to develop resources that help providers balance security, privacy, equity and usability.”
The collaboration will rely on NIST’s community engagement to gather input from a variety of voices, including federal partners, state benefit program administrators, state IT and cybersecurity leaders, digital identity experts, technologists, advocates, and those with direct experience navigating the U.S. public benefit landscape. It will reportedly leverage expertise in public benefits policy and delivery, including contemporary practices and community resources related to the use of data, design and technology to administer and deliver services. The result will be voluntary resources for public sector organisations that administer public benefits, including a profile of NIST’s Digital Identity Guidelines (Special Publication 800-63) that will help practitioners and public sector leaders evaluate what degree of authentication and types of identity proofing practices are needed for delivery of their specific benefits.
Philippines
A Digital National ID will have far-reaching implications for social welfare benefits, financial inclusion opportunities, and innovation, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
During the official launch spearheaded by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), NEDA Secretary and PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council Chairperson Arsenio M. Balisacan said the Digital National ID will be a key technology to advance the government’s strategies contained in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
“It is difficult to overstate the potential impact of this project: it will enable efficient identity verification to significantly improve the overall efficiency and quality of government services, especially in the delivery of responsive and timely social welfare benefits. We hope to lessen leakages and ensure that public money is spent where it must be spent,” said Balisacan.
“It will also reduce inconvenience—lining up, filling up redundant forms—on the part of intended beneficiaries: farmers and fisherfolk, students and mothers, the poor and vulnerable, those hit by disasters and urgently needing social assistance.”
The Digital National ID system allows Filipino citizens to access and download their National IDs on their smartphones, providing a convenient and secure method of identity verification for transactions with agencies and companies.
In collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the PSA also introduced the National ID eVerify and National ID Check systems to the public. The National ID eVerify provides users with a suite of verification tools, including facial recognition and real-time data verification.
Government agencies can leverage the National ID eVerify system to expedite service delivery by swiftly confirming details. Likewise, companies can utilise the National ID eVerify system to confirm the identities of their employees.
Global
Digital IDs will not replace physical documents in the near future, according to new research commissioned by Regula.
The Forrester Consulting study suggests that, while innovative digital verification methods are evolving, physical identity documents remain indispensable, ensuring reliable and trustworthy identity verification across various regulatory environments.
The reliance on physical documents is more pronounced in industries where security demands are stringent, such as Aviation (63 percent) and Finance (44 percent). Organisations from countries with rigid regulatory frameworks, including the US (50 percent) and Germany (49 percent), also stay true to manual checks.
One of the obstacles to broad adoption of Digital ID is the lack of a general legislative framework for this form of identity proofing. 74 percent of respondents underscore the necessity for global digital ID standards and legislation to ensure interoperability of such IDs across borders.
However, with varied regional perspectives on identity and privacy (71 percent) and the technological disparity between countries (70 percent)—which are also named among the concerns—agreeing on these standards will be challenging. To address these difficulties, the situation requires collaborative innovation from authorities, businesses, and players in the identity verification (IDV) market.
Australia
The Queensland Digital Licence App has reached more than 500,000 users since its launch on November 1, 2023. Thales and Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) released the new app to all Queensland residents following a successful pilot and an extended trial in Townsville, where engagement with real end users, businesses, and industry groups “provided valuable insights” to the project in readiness for the launch.
Belgium
The Federal Public Service Policy and Support has announced its partnership with Cryptomathic to launch a new digital identity wallet for Belgian customers.
The Federal Government of Belgium has launched MyGov.be, a single application that was developed in order to provide access to a range of digital public services, information, and official documents. The launch was made in line with the European Digital Identity Framework Regulation, eIDAS 2.0.
Germany
Non-profit go.eIDAS-Association, which aims at fostering interoperability and trust for digital identities, has partnered with a number of German tech firms and foundations to launch the eIDAS-Testbed. According to a news item on go.eIDAS’s website, the testbed “aims at fostering sovereignty, interoperability and trust for digital identities in Europe and beyond.
“In order to enable interoperability tests for issuing Personal Identification (PID)-Credentials to existing and forthcoming EUDIW, the go.eIDAS Association joined forces with selected partners in order to create the eIDAS-Testbed.”
At the heart of the eIDAS-Testbed is an issuer service, which “integrates with the existing eIDAS-Network and supports the necessary protocols and credential formats in order to issue PID-Credentials to Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF)-compliant wallets.”
Gibraltar
In the past six months, Gibraltar’s e-Gov platform has made considerable strides in enhancing its digital services, according to Chief Secretary Glendon Martinez. A new team and additional developers have been brought on board to drive these improvements.
One of the initiatives currently underway is the re-platforming of every service provided by e-Gov. This involves transitioning to open-source technology, which is expected to yield substantial savings compared to licensed products. The shift is aimed at improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of digital operations.
Another advancement is the introduction of a digital ID card, which is currently in the testing phase. The card will allow citizens to store government-issued documents on their phone’s digital wallet.
e-Gov is also developing a Geographical Information System (GIS) designed to serve as a single point of truth for all departments. The system will eliminate discrepancies, such as multiple records for the same individual with different spellings, in a bid to ensure consistency and accuracy in data management.
Europe
Inverid is combining its NFC ID document-scanning capabilities with the digital identity technologies demonstrated by Cybernetica’s experience as part of Estonia’s national system. The partners plan to bring biometric multi-factor authentication to digital identities for government and financial services organisations.
Combined services from Inverid and Cybernetica will enable individuals to perform digital signing and authentication from any smartphone. The solution is easy for organisations to integrate, and protects individual’s digital identities from the threat of generative AI attacks, the partners say.
United States
Idemia Public Security North America, the company’s government services arm, has launched a digital ID app for the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which will allow New York residents to assert their identity securely from their mobile phone at Transportation Security Authority (TSA) checkpoints.
According to a release from New York Governor Kathy Huchol, who announced the DMV mobile driver’s licence (mDL) initiative, New York Mobile ID is “a highly secure digital version of a state-issued driver license, learner permit or ID on a smartphone.” She said the optional ID means New Yorkers will be able to quickly display their IDs and enjoy enhanced security.
The mDL can be used in person or online for verification by various government agencies, businesses, and organizations, and is designed to conform to the International Organization for Standardization standard for the mobile driving license (ISO 18013-5).
Moldova
Moldova’s first digital identity wallet was downloaded over 24,000 times within the first five days, causing temporary glitches due to overload, according to reports.
The EVO app was launched allowing citizens to access digital ID cards, driving licences and vehicle registration certificates. Currently, more than 4,000 stable digital wallets are in use with work underway to solve any remaining issues, according to Dumitru Alaiba, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Development and Digitalization.
EVO was launched under the Ministry’s e-Governance Agency with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners.
South Africa
A project to bring a biometric upgrade to South Africa’s airports is underway, according to a new report. Airports Company South Africa says its R100-million (€4.9m) biometric and e-gate project is progressing well, with a rollout expected within the next two years.
The update comes after ACSA awarded a digital transformation project to IDEMIA toward the end of last year, with the French company mandated to provide its Passenger Flow Facilitation (PFF) solution across nine South African airports.
ACSA said the rollout of biometric and digital identity technology would be phased. The airport operator is leveraging facial recognition technology to streamline immigration processes, reduce transaction times, and enhance security.
Americas, Africa
Incode has announced its acquisition of Metamap to strengthen its digital identity verification market position. This merger aims to improve security and trust in digital interactions while expanding into new markets across Latin America, Africa, and North America.
