Digital Identity Verification in Government: Technologies, Challenges, and Use Cases
Introduction
Considering its significance in safeguarding national security, verified digital identity is no longer perceived just as a tech upgrade – it’s an integral part of the modern governance system. Today’s era is dominated by technology. From online shopping, e-learning, to digital banking, the sphere of using technology is becoming broader. Food, beverages, groceries, public services, and so on – all are at our fingertips now. The digital revolution, simply put, is transforming the whole world into a tech-advanced space that ensures convenience and saves people’s time while maintaining a quality lifestyle. In this scenario, ensuring an authentic digital identity for every individual user is important, which can be obtained through a genuine digital identity verification process.
As issuing a national identity as a citizen streamlines life and work in society and the government, verifying your digital identity helps the government take a step ahead to create a safe and easy-to-access online space. Thus, digital identity verification in government is a significant phenomenon that you must never ignore. Whether someone is running a business or is a part of a company or organisation, a verified digital identity keeps them covered against risks of fraud and scams. Yet, if you have more doubts to clear about digital identity verification in government, this blog is here to clear them.
What is Digital Identity?
Also known as online identity, digital identity is the persona of an individual that is perceived as their identity in different online platforms. It is developed by accumulating an individual’s personally identifiable information, data that is directly associated with them, and helps to identify their existence online. The information that can be used to prepare someone’s digital identity includes bank account number, passport number, date of birth, biometric data, login credentials, and so on. The data used to develop a person’s digital identity is collected by computerised systems through the person’s activities online and assigned to a unique ID, which is mostly the person’s IP address.
The Importance of Digital Identity Verification
A computer can’t always detect whether a user is using their ID or someone else’s. This puts cybersecurity at risk, increasing the chances of identity theft, privacy breaches, and other issues. That is why verifying the digital identity is extremely important. Once you verify your online identity, only you can give your personally identifiable information as the owner of the data. By using diverse computer-based techniques, someone’s digital footprint can be verified. Nowadays, machine learning and AI are being used to enhance the computerised processes, ensuring a quick and smooth digital identity verification process.
Digital Identity Verification: Common Technologies Used in It
There are various passive and active ways to initiate digital identity verification that leverage diverse technologies. All of them help prepare an individual’s unique identification number online. The government can use any of those methods or a mix of them, which is known as a layered authentication process. The common technologies used for this purpose are:
Biometric verification
In this process, unique physical traits of a person, like fingerprint, retina copy, etc., are utilised for authenticating a user’s identity. The recognition technology integrated with this process can identify a person’s voice, face, or other physical features that are set as verification metrics beforehand. It is one of the most secure online identity verification processes.
Document verification
This process involves verifying the government ID proofs like passport, driving license, country-specific government IDs, and all other documents issued by the government for the unique identification of a person. The data is extracted from the image of or scannable code in the ID through AI algorithms and analysed to prepare a verified digital identification.
Knowledge-based authentication
Security questions based on personal information are used in this process to verify someone’s online identity. The questions may include your pet’s name, your mother’s nickname, or your favourite chocolate brand, and other questions which only you know the answers to.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
It combines a factor that the user knows (For example, a password) and a device that the user has or the biometric details of the user. Once you give your password and other credentials in the first stage, the system will ask you to click on a verification link or share the verification code sent to your mobile number or email address.
Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)
It is a user-centric approach that, instead of involving a central authority, allows users to control their data fully. From what can be shared to who can share their data– everything can be managed by the user from their end. Thus, in this process, users have complete ownership and control over their digital identity.
Common Challenges in Digital Identity Verification in Government and How to Resolve Them
While digital identity is an infallible way to check who a person is and track their activities, verifying the online identity is not always a smooth process. Certain challenges sometimes hinder the process, which need to be resolved to ensure accurate and quick digital identity verification. The common challenges that are faced during digital identity verification in government are:
The diversity of IDs
It has been projected that there are more than 6000 variations of legally issued identity documents (ID) worldwide. Running a digital identity verification process utilising the documents is likely to bring chaos, as each of the documents has its own security measures against scams, and extracting data from them is a big challenge.
Emergence of systemic frauds
As modern-day technologies improve services, enhancing convenience for users across industries, they have also invited cyber fraudsters. Building and verifying a digital identity can make a user’s personal information vulnerable to risks of fraud, like identity theft.
Lack of precision in the verification process
Due to errors in the systems or technical glitches in the overall process, organisations may have to run the verification process repeatedly. It then asks for personal information of users multiple times, which creates a disturbance in their online activities. That’s why, many times, they show interest in proceeding with the digital identity verification process.
Failure to gain people’s trust
Digitalisation is prevalent across industries, incorporating online payment systems, online bookings, etc. Yet, many people are still sceptical about it. As there is not enough awareness about it, they tend to skip the online identity verification.
Non-compliance with data-privacy rules
In this data-sensitive era, everyone’s data is essential. So, it is important to follow data privacy regulations whenever any digital identity verification process is initiated. But, in many places, organisations don’t comply with the regulations, which later creates hassles for them.
However, regardless of the method you use for digital identity verification, remembering some best practices can be helpful to overcome the challenges. They are:
- Employ robust authentication protocols for validating authentic entities.
- Incorporate multi-layered verification strategies for protecting confidential data.
- Cross-check submitted documents before issuing a verified digital identity.
- Ensure compliance with data security policies and regulations.
- Make sure that the verification infrastructure is scalable and aligns with the latest technology.
- Educate users about how to initiate verification and protect their digital identity.
The Use Cases of Digital Identity Verification in Government
With the ongoing digital revolution in the public sector, digital identity verification has become crucial for the government. It improves the efficiency, security, and scalability of government services, making them accessible to all. By adopting the digital identity authentication strategy, government agencies can ensure people’s trust and provide better public services. Here are some of the real-time use cases of online identity verification in government:
Financial transaction
Whether it is paying your taxes, making any banking transaction, or opting for a government scholarship, you should own a genuine identification number to avoid the risks of cyberattacks.
Border security
Faster and more secure entry and exits are assured in border and customs areas with the help of a digital identity verification process.
Electronic voting
With minimal human interaction, biased activities, and manual errors, elections can be conducted successfully when voters have verified their digital identity.
Immigration management
Nothing can be the best way than digital identity verification for managing immigration in a country. It helps to avoid illegal immigration, ensuring a safe space for country citizens.
Access to Government healthcare facilities
With a verified digital identity, government facilities like vaccination camps, medical insurance, and so on, can be accessed easily and safely, minimising the risks of identity theft.
Issuance of government certificates and E-signature
When you have an authentic digital identity, you can get your e-signature easily. You can take legal action if anyone tries to forge that. Also, you can obtain the essential government certificates without delay.
Government services
Online applications, driving license renewal, passport renewal, etc., become flawless and hassle-free with verified online identity of citizens.
About SquareOne
SquareOne is a trusted technological partner to drive digital innovation for businesses across industries. With its 16 years of experience, it helps in digital identity verification in government and other private organisations in the most efficient way. Providing diverse technological solutions, it aligns various government organisations with the modern digital-first environment.
Final Thoughts
Verifying digital identity helps the government distribute its services among its citizens in the most transparent and efficient manner. Instead of succumbing to the risks of identity theft, fraud, cyber attacks, etc., they can focus on improving their services better for their people when the people own a verified digital identity. Thus, seamless online services with privacy and security are ensured. So, to cope with the ongoing surge of technological advancements, digital identity verification for every individual, regardless of their professional sphere, is paramount.
Digital Identity Verification: Common Technologies Used in It
There are various passive and active ways to initiate digital identity verification that leverage diverse technologies. All of them help prepare an individual’s unique identification number online. The government can use any of those methods or a mix of them, which is known as a layered authentication process. The common technologies used for this purpose are:
Biometric verification
In this process, unique physical traits of a person, like fingerprint, retina copy, etc., are utilised for authenticating a user’s identity. The recognition technology integrated with this process can identify a person’s voice, face, or other physical features that are set as verification metrics beforehand. It is one of the most secure online identity verification processes.
Document verification
This process involves verifying the government ID proofs like passport, driving license, country-specific government IDs, and all other documents issued by the government for the unique identification of a person. The data is extracted from the image of or scannable code in the ID through AI algorithms and analysed to prepare a verified digital identification.
Knowledge-based authentication
Security questions based on personal information are used in this process to verify someone’s online identity. The questions may include your pet’s name, your mother’s nickname, or your favourite chocolate brand, and other questions which only you know the answers to.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
It combines a factor that the user knows (For example, a password) and a device that the user has or the biometric details of the user. Once you give your password and other credentials in the first stage, the system will ask you to click on a verification link or share the verification code sent to your mobile number or email address.
Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)
It is a user-centric approach that, instead of involving a central authority, allows users to control their data fully. From what can be shared to who can share their data– everything can be managed by the user from their end. Thus, in this process, users have complete ownership and control over their digital identity.
Digital Identity Verification: Common Technologies Used in It
There are various passive and active ways to initiate digital identity verification that leverage diverse technologies. All of them help prepare an individual’s unique identification number online. The government can use any of those methods or a mix of them, which is known as a layered authentication process. The common technologies used for this purpose are:
Biometric verification
In this process, unique physical traits of a person, like fingerprint, retina copy, etc., are utilised for authenticating a user’s identity. The recognition technology integrated with this process can identify a person’s voice, face, or other physical features that are set as verification metrics beforehand. It is one of the most secure online identity verification processes.
Document verification
This process involves verifying the government ID proofs like passport, driving license, country-specific government IDs, and all other documents issued by the government for the unique identification of a person. The data is extracted from the image of or scannable code in the ID through AI algorithms and analysed to prepare a verified digital identification.
Knowledge-based authentication
Security questions based on personal information are used in this process to verify someone’s online identity. The questions may include your pet’s name, your mother’s nickname, or your favourite chocolate brand, and other questions which only you know the answers to.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
It combines a factor that the user knows (For example, a password) and a device that the user has or the biometric details of the user. Once you give your password and other credentials in the first stage, the system will ask you to click on a verification link or share the verification code sent to your mobile number or email address.
Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)
It is a user-centric approach that, instead of involving a central authority, allows users to control their data fully. From what can be shared to who can share their data– everything can be managed by the user from their end. Thus, in this process, users have complete ownership and control over their digital identity.
