In this quick take, Steve and George discuss the idea of a single digital ID through a review of the proposed bill currently in front of Australian legislators. We being by comparing that approach to two very different models: India's Aadhaar program and the "shadow IDs" as employed by commercial data providers.
We are excited by the steps Australia is taking to secure the online activity of its citizens. This is serious work with many of the required elements for success already in place. And connecting those elements into a strong chain will be challenging.
We conclude with a discussion on the quality of the data feeding into any system performing identification. How do you know that the data is authentic when it is presented through plaintext? Like chip cards and passkeys, we posit that device-bound data is required for secure online interactions.
This concern isn't just about what's happening in Australia, of course. The problems of data authenticity and how to integrate a new digital attribute into KYC processes are non-trivial. So take a listen and get in touch.