An increasing number of aspects of our daily lives can now be conducted online through digital processes - from banking and e-government to travel and healthcare. These processes depend on reliable digital identity verification. The management, delivery, and security of these digital identities present challenges but also significant opportunities to redesign processes, enhancing both usability and efficiency. Four technological advancements stand out in enhancing digital identity verification processes now and in the future:
1. Biometrics already serve as a convenient and secure method of identity verification by checking a person's unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial features iris patterns or hand veins. Advancements in biometrics, like integrating facial recognition with iris scanning, will continue to bolster reliability and security. As biometrics become more common in everyday life, automatic border controls will become even more efficient and user-friendly.
2. Cryptographic security features prevent digital documents from being tampered with. Unlike physical ID cards that use holograms, transparent windows or special materials, their digital counterparts rely on cryptographic methods to ensure the highest level of data integrity and prevent unauthorized changes. All information in the digital document, such as name or age, is secured with digital checksums and signatures issued by the relevant authority.
3. Artificial intelligence significantly speeds up identity authentication. Not only does it improve the efficiency and accuracy of solutions, but it is also critical to security. However, AI can also be used for fraudulent prevention by identifying manipulations, such as deep fakes or image morphing. In the future, AI-powered applications will be widely used to detect and prevent these sophisiticate fraud attempts.
4. Self-managed identities give users control over their personal data. In addition to the decentralized infrastructure, users themselves decide what identity data to share and with whom. Instead of revealing all personal information – like with a traditional ID card – digital documents allow users to selectively share specific data, such as proof of age, through a secure, decentralized system. This approach, grounded in the principles of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), prioritize privacy, security, and usability.
"Identity management and the way people use ID documents in their daily lives are undergoing a radical transformation," says Armin Reuter, Director Innovation at Veridos. "This is not about replacing physical documents, but about offering digital alternatives that give users freedom of choice. The greatest challenge lies in integrating physical and digital activities while ensuring privacy, usability and security."
