‘GOV.UK Verify’ unveiled; Mydex predicts “win-win” with citizen in control of their data
Friday 19th September 2014
The public-facing brand of the system for proving users’ identities when using public services online launched this week. On September 17th, the name of the new ‘identity assurance’ service that will give people a secure and convenient way to sign in to government services was unveiled as GOV.UK Verify [1].
GOV.UK Verify is intended to support services from HMRC, DVLA and Defra from later this year [2], expanding to make it possible to do a range of things you can’t easily do online now; such as register to vote, view your driving record or tax details, apply for an apprenticeship and manage your student loan.
With identity assurance currently costing the UK economy an estimated £3.3bn a year, a recent report by Ctrl-Shift [3] shows how 90% of those costs could be stripped away and replaced with faster more efficient processes that are better for individuals and organisations alike.
As well as providing a GOV.UK Verify digital ID, Mydex CIC — the only Community Interest Company chosen as one of the UK Government’s Identity Assurance Providers — also gives citizens a free-of-charge Personal Data Store [4] to help them manage their lives more effectively through convenient, trustworthy access and control of their personal data and how it is used by them and others.
Chief Executive of Mydex CIC, David Alexander, said:
“Mydex is proud to be one of the companies certified to provide citizens with a GOV.UK Verify digital ID, enabling more convenient and secure access to public services.
Identity assurance will help streamline government services, saving costs and reducing risks, but Mydex believes it is also the key to a safer, fairer digital economy — providing ways to securely exchange data that people can really trust.
Verified personal data is the basis for trusted transactions and online relationships throughout people’s lives. So putting the citizen at the centre, in control of their own data, is a ‘win-win’ for everyone.”
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Notes for editors
1. Government Digital Service (GDS) announcement, 17 September 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introducing-govuk-verify/introducing-govuk-verify
2. GDS is redesigning and rebuilding 25 ‘exemplar’ services for March 2015. The current status of each is at: https://www.gov.uk/transformation. For more information on the government’s new identity assurance service, see: https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2014/01/23/what-is-identity-assurance/
3. Ctrl-Shift, ‘The economics of identity’, June 2014: https://www.ctrl-shift.co.uk/news/2014/06/09/the-economics-of-identity
4. What is a Personal Data Store? https://mydex.org/understand-pds/
Mydex is a Community Interest Company and social enterprise that provides a trust framework and platform for the collection, management and distribution by the individual of personal data and proofs of claim that enable people to complete transactions and prove their identity online. Only the individual can see the data held in their PDS, and when they share it, it is only visible to them and the third party to whom they have given access.
Mydex is an ISO27001 certified company for information security management. The Mydex platform enables organisations to securely connect with their customers, members and citizens to exchange information. This streamlines online transactions and reduces costs, risk whilst improving compliance and satisfaction.
For further information or for immediate or future interview, please contact David Alexander, Mydex CIC Chief Executive, on +44 (0) 771 747 3661 or david@mydex.org
