Digital identity
Making digital business easier
Booking tickets, digital administration, maintaining social contacts: the internet revolution has brought us a lot. To be able to offer all these services securely, companies need data from people. So that, for example, they can establish who someone is, where they work, and whether they are pretending to be someone else. The online verification of identities has boomed in recent years. We know these challenges and offer appropriate solutions.
What is a digital identity?
A digital identity is an online identity that represents a person, organization, device, or even an animal. Such an identity may encompasse many characteristics: name, date of birth, address, username, password, social security number, browsing behavior, you name it. All this information can be used to ascertain an identity.
A key role in abuse and fraud
There are risks associated with doing business digitally. How can a company verify an identity? And then check whether that entity can pay? What must the government do to screen a grant applicant? Is someone’s identity being abused on the internet? Digital identity plays a key role in the combating of online abuse and fraud.
KPN tries to minimize the risks and at the same time protect privacy. We’ve been playing a role in this for quite some time. And we continue to invest.
PiM: the identification app for every organization
Fraud can be prevented by identifying consumers and employees effortlessly and securely with the PiM (Personal Identity Manager) app. A solution for secure identification, powered by KPN. Forget passwords, usernames, passes and forms. Customers or companies no longer have to worry about the security of personal data.
A digital vault for personal data
PiM replaces varioous identification types and systems with usernames, passwords, forms or card readers with one straightforward app. The stored personal data is validated by various sources. This ensures that the customer's data is 100% correct and that fraud and errors in received data are prevented. With PiM, everyone identifies themselves in the same way everywhere. Very simple and easy with their own smartphone and optimally protection.
Identity of Things
In the future, digital identity will play an increasingly important role. Among other things, because all the devices that act autonomously, such as robots and connected cars, can or must have identities. In Germany, for example, there is already an identification requirement for drones.
KPN is investing in these kinds of new technologies. And we’re investigating how we can contribute to the development of digital identities.
Next wave: Decentralized Identity
Digital identity is one of the oldest and most difficult problems on the internet. There is still no truly secure way to prove your identity online, such as is possible in the physical world. Luckily that is now changing.
Thanks, to the so-called digital passport, our digital identity may, in time, be as secure as our physical passport. The ultimate goal is that people can decide for themselves: where and when do I want to share my identity? Before we get to this point, there are still some steps to be taken. In this regard, among other things, cooperation between the government and technology partners such as KPN is crucial.
Behind this development are the Blockchain and Decentralized Identity technologies. One of the product innovations that KPN is working on is based on these decentralized identities. How does it work? People manage their own digital passport and decide themselves when and how their personal data is given out. A user only verifies his data once. He can then log in anywhere, without having to hand over his personal data. This is very interesting for many companies, especially since the new GDPR privacy law. It means they no longer need to store any personal data.