ALAN RADFORD at One Identity describes how our online identities are evolving and explains why they are set to become ever more important.
The journey of digital identities is one which is intrinsically bound up in our wider societal digital transformation. When COVID-19 forced office workers the world over into a remote (and eventually, hybrid) environment, Microsoft suggested that digital transformation had been ‘turbocharged’, and that that digital identities had to follow suit, expanding and adapting to meet new realities.
This journey is one which will continue in unexpected ways, as new challenges, technologies, and threats emerge. The core necessity is finding better ways to ensure people are who they say they are.
Whether this is your store loyalty card, your bank, or the organisation you work for, the need for secure identities has never been greater: McAfee statistics show in the first quarter of 2021 alone, there were 554,000 cases of identity theft – and these are the ones which were discovered and subsequently reported. The realistic number is much, much higher.
While nobody has a crystal ball but seeing how digital identity is literally weaving into all areas of a digital world, there are predictions we can make with confidence.
The e-state
Digital identities are not limited to the cybersphere. Politicians are waking up to their potential as part of state infrastructure. Estonia has provided all its citizens with a digital identity for over twenty years, allowing them to manage their healthcare, submit tax claims and even vote online. Estonians like to boast that the only things they cannot do online are marry, divorce, and buy property.
As it stands, Estonia is the only country with a digital identity scheme of this scope, but other administrations have taken note of its successes. Part inspired by Estonia’s innovation, part forced into action by a global pandemic, in June of 2021, the EU announced plans for a “digital identity wallet”. Among other benefits, the wallet will allow EU citizens to apply for university, open a bank account, and store medical prescriptions in every member state, entirely online.
Obviously, digital identity schemes of this scale come with major security concerns. The sheer amount of data up for grabs is bound to prove an irresistible target for cyber criminals. Estonia itself all but ground to a halt when, in 2017, an encryption vulnerability was discovered in over half of the country’s smart cards.
Despite legitimate worries, it seems as if the e-state is here to stay, and over the coming years we will see major steps forward in its implementation. As for security concerns, Estonia’s quick and effective response to security incidents, while not necessarily converting sceptics, has served to soothe anxieties surrounding the rollout of similar initiatives.
Artificial intelligence as ‘human’ authentication
In an ideal world, there could be identifiers which make individual accounts easier to authenticate for and ultimately, easier to access. If you take the example of physical recognition; you see your brother walking down the street, how do you know it’s your brother? You know this because of the human ability to recognise someone by features, mannerisms, or characteristics.
The hope is that this kind of role can eventually be filled by artificial intelligence, although the widespread accessibility of this kind of technology remains a way off.
The end of the dark web?
One thing we are seeing – from an identity perspective – is the dark web’s dominance retreating. The kind of personally identifiable information (PII) which is often associated with the dark web is becoming less and less relevant, and a less appealing prospect for hackers.
Criminals once bought lists of credit card numbers on the dark web, and went on spending sprees. Now the banks are working much harder to ensure that the person making those transactions is in fact the owner of the card. This will continue to develop and evolve, with blockchain authentication for example, cross-referenced with physical location and behavioural biometrics to assess whether the transaction is legitimate.
Bursting the crypto bubble
It’s important to view cryptocurrency as both a threat and an opportunity from an identity perspective. As cryptocurrency uses blockchain technology, linking it into a more comprehensive identification process is a way to hold the criminals who use blockchain more accountable.
This has already started to happen. Some of the payments to the Colonial Pipeline hackers for example were able to be recovered.
The metaverse
As it stands, our online personas are largely restricted to email addresses, profile photos and user IDs. However, the metaverse will see our online identities transformed to include digital avatars.
When the metaverse reaches a point where digital identities act as a users’ alter ego, authentication will never have been more important – identity theft would take on an entirely new meaning. While the accessibility of digital identities at this level is still a way off, it’s important that we consider these issues sooner rather than later.
Although we can make sensible predictions as to the future of digital identities, it’s impossible to truly foresee their potential. Digital identities are a burgeoning subset of the cyber-sphere, set to transform almost beyond recognition in the coming years. These are exciting times for digital identities.
- Radford is Global Identity and Access Management Strategist at One Identity.
