It’s the year of reckoning for the identity crisis: The decentralised identity movement goes mainstream in the age of AI
“With the rapid development and adoption of AI, we have seen bad actors find new ways to exploit the technology and use it to create more sophisticated phishing attacks and deepfakes at scale. Generative AI can craft highly convincing phishing messages that mimic the writing style of a trusted contact, making it increasingly difficult to spot these malicious communications. Their top targets? Consumer identities.
Identity is the thread that ties the world together, making it a high-value target for cybercriminals. This will reach a fever pitch in 2024 as the entire nature of identity is being disrupted as a result of AI making it increasingly difficult to know who to trust and how to identify who (or what) you’re interacting with. To overcome these challenges head on, we predict more organisations will adopt a decentralised approach to identity and turn to increased levels of verification, including knowledge-based, document, biometric and device authentication to further validate users.
The bottom line: It’s time to give individuals full ownership of their identities. With decentralised identity, all the information used to build an identity is encrypted and protected with digital keys that can be used to confirm an individual’s identity without exposure. Businesses don’t store those – the individual does. The core elements of a decentralised identity framework include an identity wallet, blockchain ledger, decentralised identifier and zero-knowledge proofs. Decentralised identity is overdue to go mainstream, and in 2024, we must all work towards a world with more privacy and less fraud. There is no reason why consumers should continue compromising on privacy, trading their identity for access, and taking the security risk that comes with surrendering their personal information in order to get the products, services or information they want” – Greg Wetmore, VP of Software Development at Entrust.
Inclusion and access in digital identity become table stakes
“As the lines between our physical and digital lives continue to blur, our world is increasingly moving towards a future where digital identity is foundational to social and economic mobility – which presents significant regulatory, ethical and practical implementation questions. Many of us take for granted having an ID – without realizing what it means not to. According to the World Bank, 850M people globally do not have a physical identity – many of whom are members of marginalised groups and the majority are children whose births have not been registered. Having proof of identity is a basic human right. Without it, you are denied access to the fundamentals of life – you cannot register for school, get a job, open a bank account, buy a house, or receive social assistance payments.
As we continue to increase access to digital services, there is an even greater need for secure and convenient identity verification, online or in-person. In the next year, we will see these changes drive an urgent call to action as identity technology becomes more integrated in our everyday lives. This could mean improving access to mobile smartphones, ensuring apps use basic language instead of technical, offering setup assistance at major travel points, etc. In 2024, progress must be made to make digital identity truly inclusive and accessible to all” – Jenn Markey, VP Product Marketing, Payments & Identity at Entrust.
CISOs need to prepare for regulatory surge in 2024
“In the next year, we expect a regulatory surge that CISOs must prepare for – which could include continued AI regulation. Businesses should consider this a call to action to improve not only their own cybersecurity strategies, but also to consider the impact of new technologies, like AI, on their organisation and their customers.
An uptick in government guidance will help create a blueprint for businesses to navigate rising challenges and security threats. But understanding and complying with the anticipated patchwork of regulations and regional legislation may pose a challenge for businesses, especially those operating across borders. CISOs and leaders will need trusted advisors, sound support, and secure solutions to successfully and safely forge ahead” – Jordan Avnaim, CISO at Entrust.
