President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari is showing the NIMC (National Identity Management Commission) NIN (National Identity Number) slip – that can be verified against the central national ID database leveraging OSIA interface

By Joachim Caillosse, Chair of the Secure Document Working Group of the Secure Identity Alliance

An in-depth new guide to help tackle passport booklet fraud

Document fraud is a serious crime, one that has implications that stretch from personal identity theft all the way through to national security. Moreover, document fraud often serves as the foundation upon which other threats are built – human trafficking, drug smuggling, and terrorism amongst them.

Passport fraud is a key part of this landscape, and a growing problem. While Covid-19’s debilitating affect on international travel has helped to slow the rise of passport fraud over the past 12 months, the longer-term picture tells a different story altogether Some 100m travel documents were reported lost or stolen in 2020^₁ and according to Frontex Risk Analysis, passports represented 47% of the fraudulent documents detected at European Union external borders in 2019, leading some commentators to decry a growing passport fraud “epidemic²”.

Ever keen to raise awareness of identity-related threats and provide guidance on the latest defences and countermeasures, the Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) has this week launched its “Passport Fraud Trends and Ways to Combat Them” report – a comprehensive overview of the current travel document security landscape.

Today the refreshed Principles on Identification for Sustainable development were published. Secure Identity Alliance is proud to have once again been asked to contribute to this important body of work to ensure that these updated Principles reflect today’s changing world and its own vision of supporting the provision of legal, trusted identity for all.

Five years ago the Secure Identity Alliance, along with other organisations committed to the development of ID systems that are inclusive, trusted, and accountable and supported the development of a set of shared ‘Principles for Good Identification’.

by Kristel Teyras, Chair of the Digital ID Working Group of the Secure Identity Alliance

With governments poised to accelerate national digital ID programs, the SIA commissioned a study to uncover lessons learned from innovative, real-life digital ID deployments around the world.

Providing unprecedented ‘on the ground’ insights and perspectives, the study produced in partnership with onepoint gives a unique voice to stakeholders from 25 innovative sovereign digital ID schemes. Their shared learnings highlight the guiding principles and good practices that are critical for driving usage, adoption, and success – regardless of the digital ID model adopted.

In the modern world it’s easy to characterize physical ID documents as outdated and irrelevant. But to do so would be to overlook the practical realities, and ubiquitous adoption, of these durable physical credentials.

We live in a world where the movement towards mobile and digital formats for a wide variety of identity documents – such as national IDs and driver licenses – is already underway. Indeed, the COVID-19 public health crisis has served to propel Governments to accelerate digital (mobile) ID adoption so locked-down citizens could still securely access a range of digital public and private services. Everything from registering a child’s birth to collecting pension payments, and using their digital ID to prove their ‘key worker’ status and permission to travel.

But that doesn’t mean that the physical ID document is no longer needed. Rather than simply being replaced by new digital formats, they continue to be the pre-requisite for the overall success of many schemes.

Nomination acknowledges the pioneering work of the Secure Identity Alliance in supporting the development of secure and trusted digital identities for all.

While domestic and international restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus have a tremendous impact on cross-border passenger volumes, and the longer-term picture remains unclear, it is no less important to continue to leverage the latest technologies to both strengthen borders and improve traveller experiences.

Over recent years, the technology has radically evolved in fields such as identity, security, biometrics and mobile applications to do exactly this. Technology has already transformed the world of border security and efficient processing of passengers, for example through secure ePassports (also known as electronic Machine Readable Travel Documents or eMRTD), automated eGates, biometrics used to assure visa regimes, and mobile boarding passes.

However, the story is far from complete. A newer generation of secure and efficient solutions are just beginning with the development of the Digital Travel Credential (DTC).

An immediate analysis of the coronavirus crisis highlights, among other things, the significant and growing role of technology in general, and digital identity in particular, in helping citizens, businesses and government agencies adapt and respond.

With citizens in many countries forced into homeworking and home-schooling, most at incredibly short notice, many millions turned to digital tools to communicate, collaborate, work and transact online. While these proved helpful for knowledge workers and those businesses with flexible (and often cloud-based) IT infrastructures, the crisis uncovered huge areas for improvement.

This was particularly clear when it came to access to the provision of public services – many of which lacked a cohesive digital alternative to face to face interactions. At the heart of the issue was the lack of a digital identity that would allow citizens to securely access services remotely.

For those citizens unable to access basic public services and social protections in a digital context, this lack of a digital identity and a connected ecosystem of digital service caused considerable problems.

This, Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) believes, is one of the key learnings to take away from the crisis. A secure and universally trusted digital identity, based on a government root and sourced from civil registries, is fundamental to the development of a wider ecosystem of both public and private services.

New executive team elected to drive trusted identity advocacy program

How to address the challenge of enabling the delivery of trusted mobile ID that’s secure, convenient, and easy for citizens to use

Digital identity sits at the heart of economic and social transformation. Around the globe, governments are busy fast-tracking the delivery of streamlined e-services that touch every aspect of people’s lives – from paying tax to accessing healthcare and education.

Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) announces composition of OSIA Advisory Committee.

 Picture : Mr Eng Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, Director General/CEO, NIMC, Nigeria and Chair of the OSIA Advisory Committee and Ms Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Workgroup, Secure Identity Alliance on stage at ID4Africa for the launch of OSIA.

Following the successful launch of OSIA (Open Standards Identity API) at ID4Africa in Johannesburg, the Secure Identity Alliance is happy to welcome the following government agencies in its OSIA Advisory Committee:

In its capacity as an Advisory Observer, Ivory Coast ONECI, represented by Mr Diakalidia Konate, Director General, will participate in the Advisory Committee of the OSIA (Open Standards Identity API) initiative.

Pioneering industry-first open standards initiative assures interoperability for sovereign ID programs and eliminates vendor lock-in

In its capacity as an Advisory Observer, Nigeria NIMC, represented by Mr Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, Director General/CEO, will chair the Advisory Committee of the OSIA (Open Standards Identity API) initiative

A best practices and recommendations guide
June 2019

Focus this year includes ID ecosystem evolution, eDocument security and the role of biometrics in identity

Dear colleagues,

We’re looking forward to collaborating closely with our colleagues and partners in 2019 to create a more secure world where legal, trusted identity empowers citizens to access services and exercise their rights.

Interoperable Identity Registries Interface (Open Source API) published on GitHub by Secure Identity Alliance to deliver technical interoperability between civil registries and ID systems

Industry-first initiative promises to eliminate vendor lock-in and reduce costs for governments around the world.

SDW 2018  – Open API – eDocuments Physical Security Evaluation

Dear colleagues,

In this latest roundup of SIA activity, I am delighted to announce the launch of an exciting new initiative that, I believe, will have a profound and positive impact on the design and implementation of national identity programs. We also have a wealth of new content available. I would urge you all to take a look.

The SIA’s pioneering new Open Source API will bring interoperability among civil registration and civil identification registries – independent of technology, solution architecture or vendor.

Citizens around the world depend on government issued identities to prove they are who they say they are and to undertake commonplace transactions – from opening bank accounts or registering for school, to obtaining formal employment or receiving social transfers.

It is crucial, therefore, that governments are able to ensure citizens are the same person across all these various registries and issuing agencies, and that an individual’s data – or attributes – are up-to-date. Doing so protects the individual against the risk of identity theft and state agencies against fraud.

To achieve this objective these different registries need to ‘talk’ to one another.

It is this imperative that is currently driving governments around the globe to rollout national ID ecosystems in which multiple identity registries and systems, serving different functions, operate together as a cohesive whole.

Efficient and reliable patient identify management will be an essential element in making the benefits of integrated care a reality. This was the core message at the launch of a joint new publication from COCIR and the SIA entitled ‘Identity in Healthcare’ at the HIMSS Europe and Health 2.0 conference in Barcelona. The publication brings much-needed clarity and key recommendations to the ID challenge facing the health sector.

Sanjay Dharwadker, head of global ID consultancy services at WCC will represent WCC.

Dr Joseph J. Atick, Executive Chairman, ID4Africa, will represent ID4Africa

New Code of Conduct sets out the commitment of Secure Identity Alliance members to highest standards of ethics and excellence in the design and implementation of digital ID systems, the beating heart of Government eServices delivery, upon which sustainable social and economic inclusion is built.

SIA to showcase new best practice guidance on the development of a cohesive and effective eBorder strategy at SDW 2017 and INTERPOL World 2017

The SIA call for participation by eDocument issuers and manufacturers across the world at SDW 2017

Ouverte par le Premier ministre de Namibie, la troisième conférence bilingue (français-anglais) du mouvement ID4Africa (1) a réuni près de 1000 des acteurs de l’identité numérique à Windhoek en Namibie, de plus de 30 pays.

While the concept of identity (ID) remains unchanged, the rapid evolution of digital technology has dramatically extended both its application and form factor.

As Digital ID becomes a day-to-day reality for ever greater numbers of public stakeholders and citizens across the globe, our goal is to continue to accelerate the adoption of secure access and authentication solutions that will continue to drive the digital ID agenda forward.

Today, the Secure Identity Alliance has joined the global partnership network on identification and endorsed the ‘Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development: Toward the Digital Age’ which aims to provide a set of guidance in establishing and utilizing legal identification systems for sustainable development.

The Secure Identity Alliance has been happily contributing to the Web Fraud Prevention and Online Authentication Market Guide 2016/2017 which has just been released and been made available for download in the Reports section of their website.

Paris, December 12, 2016 – The Secure Identity Association (SIA), the global identity and secure eServices advisory body, today announces that digital consultancy, Sofie, has joined the Association as an Advisory Observer – marking another important milestone in the rapid growth of the SIA.

The Secure Identity Association (SIA), the global identity and secure eServices advisory body, today announces that Estonia e-Governance Academy (eGA) has joined the Association as an Advisory Observer.

Today, the World Bank, Secure Identity Alliance, and GSMA have launched a joint white paper, “Digital Identity: Towards Shared Principles for Public and Private Sector Cooperation”.

Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) today announces that Veridos, the joint venture between Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Munich, and Bundesdruckerei GmbH, Berlin, pooling the expertise of the two largest German providers for high-security technologies to serve the international market, has joined the Alliance as a Board Member of the SIA.

Ce rapport devrait être d' un intérêt particulier pour les organisations internationales et les organismes gouvernementaux qui sont impliqués dans la création ou la réorganisation de l'état civil et des systèmes d'identité

Imprimerie Nationale, the French National Printing Group, and a leader in secure identity solutions, has joined the EEIG Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) as a member of the Board, alongside the founding members Gemalto, Oberthur Technologies and Safran Morpho.

This report should be of particular interest to international organizations and government agencies that are involved in the establishment or reorganization of civil registration and identity systems.

Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) publishes ‘Civil Registry Consolidation through Digital Identity Management’ report in support of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

By courtesy of our Government Observer Member, the National Office for Identity Data, Dutch Ministry of Interior and Kingdom relations.

Marking an important step in the evolution of secure documents and secure digital service provision, the Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) today welcomes the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) of the Netherlands, through its National Office for Identity Data, as an observer member.

‘Civil Registry Consolidation through Digital Identity Management’ to be presented at the eID Conference in Washington on 29 September 2015.

As the appetite for developing identity-based e-government services grows, Jacques van Zijp, Board Member from Secure Identity Alliance discusses the interoperability challenges now at the heart of cross-border ID discussions.

Identity is going digital, and moving to the mobile. For most, this is a positive step. Identity is proliferating at an incredible rate. From the low level ‘sign-in through Facebook’ variants to high security access to, and usage of, a new range of central government and smart city services, the ability to prove who we say we are (when we’re mobile) is a strategic imperative. And It’s not just about convenience or security.

Presentation given by Jacques van Zijp on eID and Social Protection Programs in the Developing Countries at SDW2014 in London

We have asked Guy de Felcourt, Digital Identity Strategy Advisor and Published Author, who animated the BMI-Secure Identity Alliance eIDAS Workshop to tell us why EU Regulation No.910/2014 represents a major step forward in enabling digital identity in Europe and examines the value this will deliver for member states, companies and citizens.

The Secure Identity Alliance today announced that the German Federal Ministry of the Interior (Bundesministerium des Innern - BMI) has joined its ranks as an Observer Member.

New report from the GSMA and Secure Identity Alliance outlines the growing value of mobile identity for governments looking to deliver inclusive access to digital services, protect citizens online and drive economic growth

The Secure Identity Alliance announces its official support and participation in the eID Conference 6th Edition at the Intercontinental Hotel Budapest, Hungary, on 13 and 14 October 2014.

Our First Anniversary: Celebrating a Year of Success
Announcing Next Milestones

This quarter, Jacques Van Zijp, Board Member of the Secure Identity Alliance looks at how eID is helping secure social protection and unlocking a sustainable, empowered future for communities around the globe.

Secure Identity Alliance welcomes eIDAS as a ‘major step forward’ in ID interoperability, citizen privacy and efficient eGovernment services

Secure Identity Alliance Presents a $50bn Cost Saving Vision of the Future at Connect:ID and at Cartes Asia

New report identifies the social and economic value of eServices up to 2020

Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the first in our series of quarterly newsletters, and our warmest wishes for the New Year!

January 2014: This quarter, Gareth Thomas, Board Member of the Secure Identity Alliance looks at the trouble with weak IDs building strong identities

New report jointly conducted by the Secure Identity Alliance and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) confirms explosive growth of eServices based on Tusted Digital Identity.

New self-assessment tool allows public bodies to benchmark and plan eDocument programs against proven best practices and real-world global deployments

Opening keynote speech at Secure Document World 2013 by Frédéric Trojani, Chairman, Secure Identity Alliance

Secure Identity Alliance launches two new tools: the eSPT and the eSAM

Highlighting the continued importance of cost and citizen experience drivers, the report highlights the role of trusted digital identity in enabling effective and secure eService deployment.

And with this change come some serious issues.

New initiative aims to offer a view of live government eServices identifying credentials used and identity services offered

Paris, 14th November 2013: The Secure Identity Alliance has announced that the Emirates ID Authority (EIDA) – represented by His Excellency Dr. Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, EIDA’s Director General – is joining the organization in the role of Advisory Observer.

The Secure Identity Alliance has announced that the Emirates ID Authority (EIDA) – represented by His Excellency Dr. Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, EIDA’s Director General – is joining the organization in the role of Advisory Observer.

HID Global, ABnote, and Trüb join the Alliance to accelerate secure eGovernment service adoption.

Paris, 1st October 2013 HID Global, ABnote, and Trüb join the Alliance to accelerate secure eGovernment service adoption

St. Paul, Amsterdam and Paris, 10th May 2013
Open, industry-wide association aims to promote Secure Digital Identity Services and convenient interoperable secure eDocuments

Open, industry-wide association aims to promote Secure Digital Identity Services and convenient interoperable secure eDocuments

Paris, 15th May 2013 – The newly formed Security Identity Alliance is, for the first time, inviting membership applications at Science Media Partners’ forthcoming Security Document World 2013 (SDW 2013) conference.