The pandemic is accelerating the arrival of the digital ID era.
The pandemic is accelerating the arrival of the digital ID era. Several countries abroad already use digital IDs, and here in Korea the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) has introduced a mobile public servant ID, with a mobile driver's license service that anyone can use in place of a physical license due to launch at the end of the year. ICONLOOP recently obtained temporary regulatory-sandbox approval from the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) for a blockchain-based mobile driver's license service, and the mobile driver's license is scheduled to be added to Zzeung, ICONLOOP's blockchain DID identity verification service, in the second half of the year.
We came across an article that lays out where digital IDs stand worldwide and where they are headed, so we are sharing it here. If you have been wondering about digital IDs, take a look. The full text is available at the link at the bottom of this post.
Licenses and credentials move into your phone — the digital ID that COVID brought forward
Starting with last month's mobile public servant ID, driver's licenses and others to follow in stages
Following the introduction of the mobile public servant ID on the 14th of last month, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to launch a service this December that lets anyone use a mobile driver's license carrying the same legal effect as the plastic one. Disability registration cards (2022), alien registration cards (2023) and national merit cards (2024) will move into smartphones in turn as well. Some 495 national technical qualifications, such as Engineer Information Processing and Craftsman Cook (Korean Food), can already be carried in the Naver or Kakao app and pulled out whenever they are needed. The digital ID era has quietly arrived.
◇ COVID has brought the digital ID era forward
Experts expect the influence of digital IDs to grow as IT advances. "Once self-driving cars are commercialized, for example, you will need a digital driver's license to start the vehicle and set a destination," said Kihyuk Lee, professor of convergence security at Chung-Ang University. "In an emergency, digital IDs could also be used to establish who had authority to drive and who is liable for an accident."
◇ Security and trust need to go further
Companies are betting everything on digital IDs because they connect directly to shopping, payments and financial systems. Digital IDs can replace resident registration cards and driver's licenses, and adding simple payment on top of that means they can replace credit cards and transit cards too.
Loss-prevention and security measures for digital IDs need to be strengthened so that people can use them with confidence, and public trust in the underlying technology has to be raised further
Tai-Myoung Chung, professor of software at Sungkyunkwan University
- Source: The Chosun Ilbo
- Original: https://www.chosun.com/economy/tech_it/2021/02/04/HQZJEWMZ4BF25AF2B44TSCGGIM/
