What is digital identity?
Let’s start with the basics: Digital identity is the information that a person or entity has online. In other words, it’s the identity that we create when we participate and interact on digital platforms such as social media, websites, forums, applications and other types of digital media. That’s why it’s important that we properly manage the information that we provide.
The evolution of digital identity in Europe
Based on this concept, it’s clear that institutions needed to take urgent measures in order to regulate and protect digital identity. And now, with the implementation of the new eIDAS 2 regulation in the European Union, we are starting to get a glimpse of a shift in the future of digital relations and interoperability brought about by the use of digital wallets.
This new regulation is accompanied by some enormous practical implications, while the opportunities that will arise in terms of adopting safe identities and self-verifiable credentials will also be plentiful. In addition, it is impossible to deny the impact that this will have on both the public and private sectors, such as the financial sector and the consumer credit and insurance sectors, to name just a few.
eIDAS 2: the revolution in digital relationships
This new regulation, which aims to boost confidence in electronic transactions, will promote interoperability between the different digital identity systems used throughout Europe. This will allow users to have a safe and trustworthy digital identity, which will in turn propel the development of cross-border digital services.
The new eIDAS 2 regulation will carry a number of consequences that are set to provoke a profound transformation in digital identity across the continent. For example, one of the main changes will be the introduction of self-verifiable credentials, which users can use to verify their identity autonomously and without the need for interaction from intermediaries. This not only streamlines the identification process, but also gifts users greater security and privacy.
These innovations will without a doubt give rise to countless opportunities across a number of sectors, both public and private. In the financial sector, by way of example, adopting secure identities and using self-verifiable credentials will simplify the process of verifying someone’s identity when awarding consumer credit, thus making the process more straight-forward for the client, reducing the associated risks and increasing their trust in digital transactions. All told, financial entities will be able to provide clients with more efficient and secure services.
Decentralised identity and self-sovereign identity
Technological advances like improvements in smartphones, progress in cryptography and the development of blockchains have opened the door to the possibility of creating new identity frameworks. These frameworks are based on the concept of decentralised identities, which include a particularly interesting variant called self-sovereign identity (SSI).
SSI departs from the idea of centralised user identities, meaning that they share the same core tenet: users must be at the centre of the management of their identity. This doesn’t just require a user’s identity to be interoperable in different places with their consent, but they must also have full control over this digital identity, granting the user greater autonomy.
Logalty in the realm of identity
At Logalty Group, we are especially well-versed in compliance with this type of regulations, so our solutions are all developed in line with European legislation, which helps our clients comply with even the strictest laws.
We’ve already started working on the use of wallets and generating credentials in these wallets that allow the owner of the data to manage them and share them with third parties and companies.
