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.

Finally, there is also the acceptance factor. The widespread use of new technologies will only be accepted by citizens if there is fundamental trust in the new solutions. This will take time. However, we have already seen in the past that the introduction of new technologies and products can be successful.

For example, contactless payment methods using smartphones are much more widely accepted today than they were a few years ago. In the long term, the same will be true for the use of digital documents. Smooth processes and mature solutions increase both trust and acceptance.

Q: What advantages do digital documents have over their physical counterparts?

A: Basically, the use of digital identification solutions is an important prerequisite for the much-discussed topic of eGovernment – and thus for the digitisation of society in general.

Digital access to all types of government services is also an important step toward greater convenience, eliminating the need to visit authorities and greatly simplifying the administration of federal, state, and local governments.

Digitised documents also have the potential to help us find answers to the challenges of our time, such as the increasing mobility of people and the desire for easy but secure travel. At airports in particular, we need new solutions to manage the growing number of passengers with more efficient processes.

I believe the days of border officials manually checking physical documents, inaccurately matching images and stamping passports are over. eGates, AI facial recognition systems and virtual identities are the future that has already begun. Long lines at the border, fake IDs and identity theft could soon be a thing of the past, or at least drastically reduced.

To summarise, in the future, digital documents will make our lives easier, more secure, and more convenient.

Q: Governments need to work with specialised companies for implementation. Could this create tension with regard to data protection that might reduce the acceptance of digital identities?

A: On the one hand, cooperation between government and business does not run counter to privacy – without it, most countries would not be able to offer advanced and secure identity solutions to their citizens. On the other hand, the issue is also very sensitive in terms of public trust.

For this reason, it must be clear that only the government has sovereignty over such projects and stores the sensitive data in a highly secure identity infrastructure. Special attention must be paid to legal regulations, data security, secure transmission, and communication with the backend. None of this is a nice-to-have, but a fundamental requirement.

But there is another challenge. If each country develops its own solution, interoperability with other countries’ systems will be limited, creating a patchwork quilt. We need team player solutions that work together across borders. This requires an international framework.

The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) has made initial approaches and launched a new concept for digital travel documents in the form of Digital Travel Credentials (DTC). The standard should not only create international compatibility for identity solutions, but also guarantee the necessary security.

Q: Let’s take a look into the future. What practical use cases and benefits can digital ID cards and identification solutions offer?

A: From today’s perspective, it is impossible to predict all applications. As the number of users increases, the number of offerings and possibilities will continue to grow.

In addition to everyday scenarios such as automated age verification at self-service checkouts in supermarkets or digital check-in at hotels, innovations in the healthcare sector are particularly exciting. Combined with concepts such as digital patient records, many processes could be automated, saving time and effort for often overworked staff.

We also expect to see major improvements in the mobility sector, where new technologies promise even more potential than just faster border controls.

Digital identification solutions are also an important part of the idea of seamless travel, in which travellers have as few contacts with staff and time-consuming checks as possible. With a virtual version of their passport on their mobile device, they can apply for visas online, check in for flights or pass through border controls. Of course, there is still a long way to go and many hurdles to overcome, but the technological foundation is already in place.

To find out more about new developments in digital credentials, visit www.veridos.com.