2023 – Covering the Year with Headlines

Overlayed on the principal trend in the industry of the transition from physical to digital, three key summary conclusions can be drawn from the monthly headline stories of ID & Secure Document News™ (IDN).

1. Global momentum towards digital identity solutions – the year saw a widespread recognition of the transformative potential of digital identity management. Investments from entities like the World Bank in Indonesia, endorsements from former UK leaders, and the EU’s ambitious digital identity wallet project underscored a shared belief in the positive impact of modernised identity systems.

2. Regulatory and legal issues – the focus on technological advancements, in particular the US National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) focus on face biometrics evaluation algorithms, signalled a commitment to strengthening the security of digital identity systems.

The year also brought challenges and setbacks in this area, such as the privacy and cybersecurity concerns that led to the halt of Taiwan’s digital ID plan, the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles data breach compromising millions of records, and the US Supreme Court’s limitation on identity theft charges.

3. Cross-border collaboration for interoperability – efforts by Nordic and Baltic countries to ensure cross-border digital ID interoperability reflected a positive trend towards international collaboration. The goal is to make digital IDs seamlessly usable across borders, enhancing convenience for citizens and potentially setting a precedent for broader international cooperation in the field of identity management.

January

World Bank provides $250 million for Indonesia digital ID – Indonesia is set to receive $250 million in funding from the World Bank Group’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to strengthen the country’s civil registration, in what could see sweeping changes to how people access services across both the public and private sectors. In providing background to the investment in the civil registry system, the information document for the project notes that foundational ID systems that serve as proof of identity for a wide variety of public and private sector services are recognised as a key enabler for development.

February

Calls (again) for UK ID card – but this time its digital – in their recent report, ex- UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair (Labour) and Lord Hague (former Conservative leader) have called for the implementation of digital ID cards for all UK citizens, saying that the current government records system is outdated and in need of modernisation. The former leaders argue that the introduction of digital ID cards would revolutionise how the country operates in the modern age, bringing about a technological revolution. The report goes on to cite further benefits for electronic ID (eID), including increased security and reduced risk of identity theft and fraud. The cards would be more reliable and secure than traditional ID methods and would provide an accurate and efficient way to verify an individual’s identity.

March

White House wants $1.6 billion to attack identity theft and fraud – the US administration released a three-part proposal asking Congress for $1.6 billion to help provide federal agencies and local governments with more funding to handle pandemic-related fraud claims, modernise identity verification systems, and support victims of identity theft. The spending proposal reconfirms President Biden’s commitment to boost the federal government’s efforts to combat fraud in government relief programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic – which have run as high as $60 billion in state unemployment insurance programmes, and $5 billion in relief programmes administered by the Small Business Administration.

April

EU digital wallet update – the European authorities (European Commission, Parliament, and Council of the European Union) have set up plans to change the lives of the 450 million citizens of the bloc by creating a pan-European digital ID. The EU digital identity wallet project aims to enable European citizens to store their government and commercial credentials on the wallet on their phone. Not only will national ID, driving licence and other government-issued documents be stored on the wallet, but also private secure credentials such as banking cards and other payment-related data.

May

Contractor seeks compensation for Taiwan’s halted digital ID plan – Taiwan may have to pay substantial compensation to a contractor after the country’s digital ID plan was halted due to privacy and cybersecurity concerns. According to an article in Taiwan News, the unnamed contractor is seeking approximately $17 million in compensation for costs incurred that include equipment purchases, venue fees, maintenance, and air conditioning, but the lawsuit could end up costing taxpayers as much as $33 million. Legal issues surrounding the eID card had surfaced as early as November 2022, when Taiwan’s privacy advocates tested the government on their plans to prevent personal data theft during the card roll-out.

June

US State of Oregon DMV ID data breach – the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles Division (DMV) of the Oregon Department of Transportation confirmed that an estimated 3.5 million driving licences and ID cards were compromised when the agency was hacked. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said: ‘learning that personal information most Oregonians gave to their government has been exposed in a data breach is highly distressing. While the state works to identify who was impacted and what data was exposed, please follow these recommendations to stay safe’. The statement goes on to make recommendations that those with an Oregon driving licence or ID card should consider freezing credit accounts and set up a profile change alert if using mobile or online banking tools.

July

US government overreached in identity theft case – in November 2022, IDN reported that the US Supreme Court had agreed to examine what constitutes identity theft in a fraud, after criminal defence lawyers said it had been over-criminalised by the federal government. Now, in its ruling, the Supreme Court limited the reach of the federal Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, rebuffing the Biden administration’s efforts to prosecute a man already convicted of Medicaid fraud with a separate charge of aggravated identity theft arising out of the same fraud case.

August

US states trial MDLs – in a growing trend of soft-launching mobile driving licences (MDLs) prior to general public release, two US states are currently trialling their state identity documents with select groups of businesses. The state of Iowa Department of Transportation is testing its Mobile ID app with businesses and other groups to confirm it has the tools needed for identity verification. The California Department of Motor Vehicles is currently running a pilot programme with 500 participants, and the number of participants is expected to expand gradually in the coming weeks.

September

ID4Africa commemorates ID Day – the ID Day Campaign seeks worldwide recognition of 16 September as Identity Day to highlight the importance of having proof of identity. It is intended to address the lack of a dedicated day of commemoration for identity which is a fundamental right and practical necessity in today’s digital age. The chosen date, 16 September (16.9), symbolically references UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which aims to provide legal identity, including birth registration, to all individuals by 2030.

October

Cross-border digital ID interoperability – the Nordic and Baltic Ministers of Digitalisation have announced an effort to ensure that member countries’ residents will be able to use their digital IDs across borders. That could open the door to a digital identity system such as Denmark’s MitID being used to access online services in, for example, Sweden. The regional group includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. Digital identity authorities in the member countries will work with their counterparts to ensure that identity matching can be performed reliably across borders.

November

Visas continue to go digital – in June 2023, the European Council provisionally agreed on rules to digitise the Schengen visa procedure. The Council has now approved the digitisation of the visa process, signalling a further move away from physical visa stickers. During 2024, UK Visas and Immigration will be replacing physical immigration documents, such as biometric residence permits and vignettes, with digital immigration status eVisas. This is part of the goal to make the UK immigration system digital by default.

December

NIST advances face biometrics evaluation algorithms – NIST has released updates through its Face Analysis Technology Evaluation (FATE) Part 11 report. This report specifically focuses on the evaluation of face image quality vectors, a critical facet in advancing face biometrics technology. The essence of the improvements lies in the substantial progress observed in image quality assessment algorithms. These algorithms play a pivotal role in detecting specific defects that could significantly impact the success of face biometrics matches.