Are you tired of having to create a user account every time you access a web site or an app on your smartphone. Not to mention trying to remember all your passwords for every account! Often you are asked to use your Facebook account or Google+ account or a twitter account since these sites allow a loose connection to an email address.
Would you realistically then book a flight using your Facebook account or login to you bank account using you’re a twitter account or login to your workplace computer with your google+ account?
It is pretty clear that the answer is no!!
The thought would never cross your mind because it is not safe, it does not have enough personal information and your employer would never allow it. What we need is a Trusted Digital ID for all citizens and some countries have already started to explorer this idea.
For example, Estonia has a highly-developed national ID card system. Much more than simply a legal picture ID, the mandatory national card serves as the digital access card for all of Estonia’s secure e-services. The chip on the card carries embedded files which, using 2048-bit public key encryption, enable it to be used as definitive proof of ID in an electronic environment.
In Barcelona, they promote a Digital ID for the citizenship of Barcelona, a digital identity that is saved on their smart phone..
Canada’s Governments and businesses have declared to secure their digital future by developing a Digital ID, and I guess there are other countries or governments with the same intent.
Sweden provides a solution called Bank-ID that can be saved on the computer or their smart phone that is a trusted digital ID provided by the banks.
Any there are probably many more solutions.
The challenge is that we need to have a world-wide solution to allow this to be ingrates and trusted around the world.
An ability to have a TRUST model where governments, businesses and standards committees can work together to allow YOUR DIGITAL ID be valid across many counties, exactly the same way as credit cards are trusted.
I strongly believe within the next five years, we will all have some form of Citizens Digital ID, a digital passport, that is you one and only trusted ID account. The Digital ID will be valid for the country you live in and I expect it will take another 5 year before it can be used freely outside the country you live in.
Who do you think will take the lead and drive this?
Facebook / Google / Twitter / Our Governments / Non-Governmental Organisation / Institutions / The Banks ?
george e muir