INDUSTRY WATCH
understand and protect the technologies
in use on their networks
More specifically, the government is also set
on protecting the personal identity of citizens
by using a digitised approach. Digital identity
is more than a buzzword in the government
business. It is almost reality. More than 10
Dr Ian Levy, the NCSC’s Technical Director
and Author of the ACD report
pilot projects and a small number of live
projects are currently running worldwide,
mainly around digital driving licenses. But
what do we mean when we talk about
digital identity? Is it just a digitalised identity
document that is accessible on a smartphone?
This would not make it any different from
a conventional physical document, so why
bother investing in such a project?
The security and trust advantages
of a digital ID
A digital document has two major
advantages that go beyond what you see on
a mobile phone screen:
Cryptography. All data is protected
by cryptography. This means that the
implemented security reveals whether the
data of the mobile ID holder is altered during
any kind of communication. Cryptography
also ensures the authenticity of the data,
which means that the data can be verified
as coming from the expected source. Or to
make it even easier to understand, in the
case of a digital driving license, one can trust
that the data comes from the driver’s license
authority that issued the mobile ID rather
than being the creation of some hacker. In
addition to that, encryption ensures that
data can’t be accessed without consent.
Software. Just as important as cryptography
is the fact that a digital document can be
verified by software. This means that a
device or desktop installation can verify the
authenticity and validity of the document at
any time. Relying on digital verification has the
advantage that one does not have to trust his
or her knowledge of security features in identity
documents. Verifying an ID becomes easier,
faster and more convenient than ever before.
National economies can save money
by extending verification capabilities
to the private sector
While digital identity is convenient for the
citizen, the verification capabilities are what
elevate the concept of a mobile ID to an
identity ecosystem for an entire society –
assuming the private sector also receives
verification capabilities. This can be an
interesting option for many businesses,
ranging from cinemas and supermarkets
to dance clubs and banks. It makes the
implementation of mobile ID a truly valuable
investment for governments. The reason is
simple: with reliable verification on the private
and public side, fraud can be easily detected.
And identity fraud is what costs national
economies billions of US dollars every year. But
there are additional benefits that come with it
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
MOBILE ID NEEDS TO
CONSIDER A LEGAL
FRAMEWORK THAT TAKES
THE NEEDS OF THE PRIVATE
SECTOR INTO CONSIDERATION.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
such as faster verification or being able to
remotely perform verification of an ID.
Governments need to consider the
different verification needs of the
private sector
Before extending the verification
capabilities to the private sector, the
different needs and legal liabilities
that come with it must be taken into
consideration. In my opinion, we can
define three liability levels:
Low level. Let’s take a cinema as an
example. It often offers reduced ticket
prices for visitors of a certain age. If
someone lies about his or her age, the
liability for the cinema is low or even non-
existent. At the same time, the business
is losing money by not selling a higher
priced ticket to that customer.
Middle level. An example is an owner of
a bar or off-license. Taking into account
that there might be different legal
frameworks from country to country, we
can still say that the liability is higher
than for the cinema, as a business selling
alcohol has a responsibility not to sell
alcohol to under-age customers.
High level. Banks have probably one of
the highest levels of liability towards their
customers. If a thief is able to access
someone’s bank account and steal
money from it, there is huge economic
damage for the customer and the bank
itself. A bank that does not protect its
customers from this kind of issue will
eventually lose customers, which means,
again, an economic loss.
There is a need for different
verification technologies
All three levels of liability have an
economic impact and sometimes even
a social one that cannot be separated
completely from the responsibilities that
a government has. In essence, this means
that the implementation of mobile ID
needs to consider a legal framework that
takes the needs of the private sector
into consideration. Depending on these
three levels of liability, governments must
introduce different technologies that can
accommodate those verification needs. n
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