From Today’s Perspective, Not All Applications are Predictable

In a year that is predicted to see the continued shift from physical to digital identity management, ID & Secure Document News™ interviewed MarcJulian Siewert, CEO of Veridos, to help us assess the impact of the transition.

Q: Will the introduction of digital versions of official documents mean that we can do without physical ID cards in the future?

A: This is not a realistic scenario in the foreseeable future – we will have to wait and see what the future brings in this regard. In the here and now, digital versions of passports, ID cards and driving licences are a complement to physical documents, but not a substitute.

There are many reasons for this. On the one hand, the necessary IT infrastructures are often simply not in place, which is a major problem, especially when it comes to international cooperation and interoperability. On the other hand, security is an issue. While physical documents have very sophisticated features such as watermarks or holographic images, we need to ensure that digital identification solutions achieve at least the same level of security.