Digital Identity: trust, technology and transformation

Digital identity is no longer a distant ambition for government. From streamlining services to building new relationships with citizens and businesses, identity is becoming the foundation of digital transformation. But as a panel of experts at Think Digital Identity and Cybersecurity for Government made clear, delivering secure, inclusive and trusted identity services remains one of the biggest challenges facing the public sector.

The panel comprised Anais Reding, chief digital officer at the Department for Business and Trade, Tom Ankers, director, UK identity & biometrics at Deloitte Digital, Mark Salmon, lead product manager, identity and person services, migration & borders technology portfolio at the Home Office and Chris Allgrove, digital identity group member at the Biometrics Institute.

Allgrove said the pandemic underlined just how transformative identity can be. “Suddenly we had to provide services online. We reduced the key to access the DWP website from 100 years to a few hours. The technology flexed, and it worked. Identity has unquestionably transformed the way we access services, even if progress has been uneven.”

Efficiency, usability, security

From the Home Office perspective, Salmon urged colleagues not to see identity as a “solved” problem.

“It’s easy to think you’re at the top of the mountain now, but the environment is constantly shifting,” he said. “Our core business hasn’t changed – establishing identity, checking documents and credentials, making sure the person presenting them is who they say they are. What changes is the opportunity: technology evolves, user expectations evolve, and security threats evolve.”

That, he argued, means government services must always balance three tests: efficiency, user-friendliness and security.

For Reding, the prize goes beyond efficient services: identity can reshape the entire relationship between government and business. “Businesses tell us the biggest barrier is fragmentation – finding their way through support and duplication,” she said. “If we can know more about a business – its size, sector, stage of growth – and use that with consent, then government can be proactive. We could say: a policy has changed, a trade deal has been signed, here’s a grant you’re eligible for. Identity lets us shift from being a burden of compliance to being a helping hand.”

Trust, utility and commoditisation

Ankers argued that adoption will only come if identity provides clear value. “Identity has to become part of daily life in the same way we tap a card for payment,” he said. “For that, two things matter: the utility for the holder, and the trust in how it’s issued, secured and consumed.”

He predicted that commoditisation would accelerate as public and private sectors converge. “Government credentials will only take off if they can also be consumed by businesses – to prove age, eligibility or other attributes. Citizens expect the same frictionless experiences from government as they get from commercial platforms.”

Biometrics and the trust question

Biometrics remain central to identity systems, but Allgrove warned against treating them as a black box. “The answer to every question about biometrics is: it depends,” he said. “We have to ensure responsible, ethical use, minimising data, providing options and maintaining assurance. Otherwise, we risk undermining trust, and once that goes, the system fails.”

Salmon added that accessibility must remain a design priority. “The real tension is between security and inclusion. You spend most of your time designing for a small percentage of users, but that’s the reality if services are to be universal.”

The panel also touched on risks, from fraudulent use of digital IDs to system compromise. Unlike banks, Salmon noted, government cannot simply “refund and reset.” “If One Login is compromised, we can’t just issue a new identity the next day. Recovery is much harder, so resilience has to be designed in from the start.”

Looking ahead

Despite the challenges, Reding struck an optimistic note. “We now have solid foundations with One Login, and new technology to build on. A few years ago, all we could do was triage content. Today, we can predict intent, tailor services and deliver them when and where they’re needed. The return from identity is much greater than it used to be.”

Ankers agreed, but warned that maintaining public trust is critical. “Trust is only as good as the last failure,” he said. “That’s why ethical deployment, interoperability and constant vigilance are so important.”

As Brown closed the session, the consensus was clear: digital identity is both an enabler and a risk. Get it right, and government can deliver services that are efficient, secure and genuinely helpful. Get it wrong, and the consequences will be long-lasting.