Indonesia
South Korean cybersecurity firm RaonSecure Co. has secured a project for Indonesia’s integrated digital identity (ID) service.
RaonSecure will be responsible for building and developing a demo environment of Indonesia’s digital services, providing consulting on the framework for Indonesia’s digital security, and offering digital ID capability enhancement training for Indonesian public officials.
In particular, the company will work on linking services used by Indonesian citizens with a blockchain-based decentralised identifier (DID) system.
Kenya
A Kenyan court has given the go-ahead for the issuance of the Maisha Namba to continue, saying allowing a ban is not in the public interest.
The decision by the Milimani High Court lifts a ban imposed on the ID issuance process last month, Citizen Digital reports. The court had suspended the rollout of the digital ID on July 25 for the second time in seven months.
In the reversal decision made public last Monday, the judge, Justice Lawrence Mugambi, said undoing the injunction was in the interest of the people as a prolonged halt in the national ID issuance process would have a severe negative impact on them.
Lawyers holding briefs for the government reportedly argued that the injunction on the Maisha Namba rollout was contributing to a serious backlog as around 1.2 million people who had applied for ID cards were unable to get them.
Australia
The Australian Government has unveiled a new initiative it said would allow people to have more control over the personal information they share.
The scheme, still in its early developmental stage, is called the Trust Exchange (TEx), and would allow people to verify their identities and credentials based on official information already held by the federal government.
The minister for government services, Bill Shorten said the scheme would mean “sharing only the personal information to get the job done – and in some cases, not handing over any personal information at all.
“It can all be done via the digital wallet on your phone – the TEx technology does the rest.”
Shorten gave the example of paying for a hotel room. “With TEx, instead of handing over those documents and having them taken to the back office to be photocopied, you will scan a QR code on the front desk – or use technology similar to tap-to-pay machine – which digitally shakes hands with your myGov wallet.
“You choose which information to share from your digital wallet and consent to its use. You will have a record in your myGov wallet of what you shared and with whom you shared it.”
Europe
The European Commission (EC) has published five key documents related to the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet and is inviting feedback.
The five eIDAS implementation regulations cover certification requirements, common protocols and interfaces for cross-border interoperability, core functionalities and integrity guidelines for use across EU member states, trust frameworks for secure identity management and identification data and attestations.
The four-week consultation period will close on September 9, 2024. The EC plans to adopt the recommendations during the fourth quarter of this year.
The European Council officially adopted the underlying framework for the EU’s Digital Identity Wallets in March.
Mauritania
Mauritania has launched a new digital identity app offering access to government services, building on a successful pilot built on biometric technology provided by TECH5.
The company won the contract for a digital ID pilot in June of 2022, in partnership with the local integrator SmartMS and the United Nations Development Program. Since then, the organisations have been working together on a digital ID solution for the Mauritanian Ministry of Digital Transition, Innovation and Public Sector Modernisation (MTNIMA).
The digital ID revolves is based on selfie-based identity verification.
The pilot was successfully demonstrated with the participation of MTNIMA employees in March of 2023. It showed how a Mauritanian citizen can use the mobile app to read their e-passport or ID card, and then match it to their face by taking a selfie. From there, a digital ID is stored on the user’s phone, and biometric login is enabled for access to Mauritanian government’s online e-services portal.
The pilot lasted for several months, concluding in October of last year, and paving the way for the newly released Houwiyeti app.
Mauritania said it is positioned to leverage its digital ID system for further applications in the future.
Malaysia
MIMOS Berhad, the research and development division of the Malaysian Government, has formalised a partnership with the Worldcoin Foundation, Tools for Humanity (TFH), and MyEG. The collaboration aims to integrate Worldcoin’s technology into Malaysia’s digital infrastructure, focusing on enhancing digital credentials and validating digital ‘proof of humanness’ in the era of AI.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) outlines several key initiatives, including deploying Worldcoin’s iris imaging technology in Malaysia. The collaboration also explores joint orb manufacturing and the potential integration of Worldcoin’s blockchain with Malaysia’s National Blockchain Infrastructure.
Worldcoin’s approach to digital identity involves using biometric data, specifically iris scans, to create a unique identifier for each individual. This identifier, known as World ID, is stored on a decentralised blockchain. The system does not store biometric data directly but uses an IrisHash, a set of numbers generated from the scan, which cannot be traced back to the individual.
United States
California is expanding its mobile driver’s licence programme, with plans to soon make digital IDs available to residents through Google Wallet and Apple Wallet, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
The expansion will allow residents to more easily present their California driver’s licences and ID cards at certain businesses and at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport security checkpoints using their Apple or Android devices, according to the announcement. Officials said the digital IDs don’t replace the requirement for individuals to carry physical cards.
More than 500,000 residents have already added digital IDs to their phones using the California DMV Wallet app, which the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) launched through a pilot programme last year.
