Digital Identity Newsletter, June 2019 (#04)
The New Digital Identity And Privacy Mandate
Research and Markets latest 2019 report on identity said that identity verification is expected to grow from $6B in 2019 to $12.8B by 2024. The report highlights the rising number of identity-related frauds and data breaches as well as the need for compliance to drive the adoption of identity verification solutions.
Read more at Forbes.com.
How Digital Identity Can Address Both Protection And Inclusion
AUSTIN, Texas — In Uganda, South Sudan, and Tajikistan, the World Food Programme is digitizing nutrition monitoring.
SCOPE CODA replaces paper booklets and manual data entry. It provides frontline workers with electronic devices that read personalized smartcards and link to WFP’s digital beneficiary transfer management platform. WFP’s long-term goal is to ultimately digitize all of its malnutrition treatment programs using SCOPE CODA.
This mobile solution is one example of the way organizations such as WFP are doing what they can with the information they have in places where many people cannot easily prove who they are.
As the world becomes increasingly digitized, identity will become all the more critical, as will the need for cooperation between organizations that have identified ways digital identity can achieve both protection and inclusion: doing no harm and leaving no one behind in the digital age.
Read more at Devex.com.
Digital Identity Program Allegedly Breached
An alleged massive breach has further called into question the security of India’s contentious digital identity program Aadhaar.
Although the government had asserted that the central database cannot be hacked, a complaint filed by the Unique Identification Authority of India, which issues the Aadhaar identity card, alleges that the data of 78 million card holders could have been compromised. These are residents of the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.
“It is strongly suspected that the accused could have illegally stored the Aadhar database of not only Telangana and Andhra Pradesh but possibly of a few other states in an offshore storage facility,” the UIDAI’s complaint states. “There is every possibility that sensitive data of Indian citizens could be accessed and used by countries hostile to India or international organized crime syndicates in a manner which could seriously be detrimental to national security.”
Read more at Asiatimes.com.
It’s Time For A Unique Digital ID For Every Person In The World
PARIS — How can I prove this is me, in real life or online? Identification has become so important in our connected world that the answer to this question is worth several billion dollars. Transactions, such as payments or administrative formalities, are dematerialized and need verifying through platforms, sometimes half a world away. And KYC (“Know Your Customer”) obligations that are imposed on websites are increasing. How can people prove their identity in the future? Is it time for a unique digital ID for every person in the world?
Read more at Worldcrunch.com.
Digital ID In Africa This Week: Demand For National Biometric Projects Challenge Capacities
Biometrics were firmly a part of the continental conversation in parts of Africa this week. In Kenya, at the start of a last-minute week-long extension to Huduma Namba registration, the governor of Nairobi County set out his plans to begin biometric monitoring of City Hall staff. In Ghana, a mention of the online portal for Ghana Card registration during a radio interview drove so much traffic it took down the website. Also in Ghana, the electoral commission outlined its plans to acquire a new set of biometric kits for voter registration exercises and to investigate bringing data management in-house.
Read more at Biometricupdate.com.
