Experts on #FutureofID – What is the single biggest barrier to giving everyone a digital ID?

Identity & Fraud / by Tony Nesterov

Digital ID is generally defined as smart cards that are underpinned by cryptography. They contain biometric information and enable proof of identity.  In some countries they are already in use, this doesn’t mean there is a model there which can be replicated though.

Recently we’ve asked industry experts “What is the single biggest barrier to giving everyone a digital ID?” though our live #FutureofID chat.

Some concerns were raised about whether digital processes could ever offer complete security when human error can still play a part. Some questioned whether the governments Verify scheme answered this, whilst others believed it to simply be a challenge caused by appetite for adoption of digital identity.

Some interesting points were around data connectivity. Is it possible to combine and connect data from varying single sources such as government, private sector and global security? A good question and the answers are unknown.

Education is one area which was commented on and this will take time to invest and manage. People need to understand the opportunities of owning their identity and managing it, were tweets posed by the debaters – how can an education programme with society concerns over personally identifiable information be managed? Is it similar to chip and pin? Critics suggested it would take a big education programme to implement – however the programme was enforced and over 10 years ago the nation simultaneously transformed the way in which card transactions were made – resorting to a single chip sign on identifier – by a unique chip and personalised number.

 

It is clear from the comments that people believe that infrastructure, education (from an early age) and cooperation needs to drive the change.

We’d like to thank all of our experts for joining the online debate: Martina Dover, Neira Jones, Arjun Medhi, @tweetwithjonny, Richard Howells and Jonathan Williams. Watch this space and #FutureofID on twitter for future questions, follow @id_and_fraud on twitter to be up to date with the latest industry news, as well as join our debates and have your say on whether online identity can be truly fully inclusive:

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