Yearly Archives: 2018

Canada’s Digital Economy Relies on a Foundation of Digital Identity

Canada’s Digital Economy Relies on a Foundation of Digital Identity

The Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) publishes a white paper that underscores the economic impacts of digital identity on Canadian citizens and the Canadian economy

Read the Paper: English | French

TORONTO May 16, 2018 – The Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) released a new white paper about the economic impacts digital identity has on Canadian businesses and the national GDP.  The paper highlights the critical foundation that digital identity establishes for every industry in protecting consumers and making Canada competitive on a global scale.

Almost every Canadian has some kind of digital identity, with the average person having 92 accounts registered to one email. The white paper, released today, outlines how digital ID is critical to the Canadian digital economy and greatly impacts everyone, notably citizens, small businesses, financial services, healthcare and government.  Given this, reliable digital identity is key to increasing efficiencies for Canadian citizens and business, and making digital services safe, secure, and accessible.

Digital ID isn’t being used to its full potential, given a general lack of trust in the validity of digital identification when used for transactions or services. The white paper, called “The Economic Impact of digital identity in Canada: understanding the potential economic benefits and the cost of inaction,” explains methods to build the trust that will allow Canadians to fully adopt digital identity, which create new opportunities for both individuals and businesses, with significant benefits to the economy.

“All of us increasingly manage our daily lives on mobile devices and online,” said CJ Ritchie, Associate Deputy Minister and BC Government Chief Information Officer. “We want to choose when, where and how we access services and don’t care if the service is provided by the public or the private sector. Trusted digital identities are absolutely required to make that possible.”

Currently, many processes that require identity authentication and validation used in government, health care, financial services remain manual, which lead to increased costs and slow access to services that directly impact taxpayers. An estimated $482 million CAD is lost each year from manual government processes at both provincial and federal levels.

“Canada has an incredible opportunity to lead in digital identity, setting the groundwork that is required for an integrated, interoperable, and reliable digital economy,” said Franklin Garrigues, Vice President of Digital Channels at TD Bank. “We were happy to contribute as a DIACC member and help demonstrate the scale and impact of digital identity across industries.”

Countries like Estonia have already experienced the benefits of implementing digital identity tools, including electronic ID cards for all residents over the age of 15, which are used in healthcare, electronic banking, online shopping, signing digital contracts, encrypting email, tram tickets, and more. This has created efficiencies for citizens, while adding 2% to the country’s GDP and saving an additional 2% through the use of electronic signatures.

As stated in the whitepaper, “there is no better time for consumers, businesses and government entities work together to achieve the common goal of enabling a safe, secure and trusted ecosystem for Canadian digital identity.”

Read the full whitepaper to find out more about how digital identity will set the foundation for Canada’s digital economy.

About DIACC

The DIACC is a non-profit coalition of public and private sector leaders committed to developing a Canadian digital identification and authentication framework to enable Canada’s full and secure participation in the global digital economy. The DIACC was created as a result of the federal government’s Task Force for the Payments System Review and members include representatives from both the federal and provincial levels of government as well as private sector leaders.

DIACC members work together by sharing resources and perspectives to address the needs of digital transformation through the development of the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF). The PCTF is a set of Canadian standards that support open government principles and enable Canada’s full and secure participation in the global digital economy. DIACC members collaboratively develop market educating innovation white papers, proof of concepts, and applied research to secure Canada’s full and beneficial participation in the digital economy.

To learn more about the DIACC visit www.DIACC.ca

About Consult Hyperion

Consult Hyperion is an independent strategic and technical consultancy, based in the US and UK, specialising in secure electronic transactions. With over 30 years of experience, we help organisations around the world exploit new technologies to secure electronic payments and identity transaction services. From mobile payments and chip & PIN, to contactless ticketing and smart identity cards, we deliver value to our clients by supporting them in delivering their strategy. We use a practical approach and expert knowledge of relevant technologies. Hyperlab, our in-house software development team, further support our globally recognised expertise at every step in the electronic transaction value chain, from authentication, access and networks, to transactional systems and applications. We define, develop, design and deliver.

For more information contact pressoffice@chyp.com

Media Enquiries

Krista Pawley

krista@imperativeimpact.com

416-270-9987

Quebec Leading in Digital Identity: Top Takeaways from IdentityNORTH Montreal Executive Forum

The first IdentityNORTH Montreal Executive Forum took place last week at Deloitte Tower in downtown Montreal and set the tone for broader conversations in Canada’s leading digital identity landscape.

It was a fantastic full day event that provided DIACC with a great opportunity to connect with members, including event sponsors ForgeRock, Interac, SecureKey, and Notarius, and connect with the community in another province. There were a lot of unique perspectives in the programming and the DIACC is excited to continue to help bridge these approaches and views for collective action across Canada. 

Quebec is a vibrant province where a lot is happening and there is a still a ton of potential in emerging markets and innovation in the digital economy. The packed room at the first IdentityNORTH Montreal Executive Forum reaffirmed the incredible energy, enthusiasm and excitement that is happening in Quebec. It also demonstrated a keen interest from locals and Canadian and global businesses who are looking to get into the Quebec market.

The incredible talent pool in Quebec reflects capabilities that are in high demand across Canada and demonstrates how the province has a strong position to lead in the next phase of the development in standards, technology, and organizations.

Quebec is a strong example of Canada’s unique cultural makeup. Diversity is critical for Canada’s digital economy, especially at this point in time. Diversity ensures that we have a robust approach going forward that makes us resilient against sudden changes, different technological developments, and cross-industry concerns.

Some areas where Quebec is excelling include consumer protection, artificial intelligence, and other principles and technologies that are critical for our shared success. IdentityNORTH was a perfect opportunity to connect those perspectives across provincial borders.

One of the biggest indicators of its success, and the importance of these opportunities, was the fact that more people wanted to join in. Even when tickets were sold out, even when the room was at capacity, people flooded the space in hopes of joining the conversation. There is a lot of demand for these opportunities to connect and collaborate across sectors, industries, and provinces.

We look forward to continuing to support and grow Canada’s digital identity community. Join us at the annual IdentityNORTH conference in Toronto on June 19-20, the DIACC AGM June 21 for members, and other upcoming events.

Cambridge Analytica Revelation: Reaffirming the Importance of Digital Identity

The revelation surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica’s use of data and data access breach may have been surprising to many users of the platform. For those of us in the digital identity industry and landscape, the news came as less of a shock.

When word got out about the consent issues – including insufficient permissions to access to multiple profiles and a lack of notice from Facebook – I saw it as a confirmation of the need for Privacy by Design (PbD). PbD principles posit that security and privacy controls need to be built into platforms and tools from the start and not as an afterthought. Implementation of PbD is critical in today’s digital-first world.

Speaking with other members of the digital identity community, surprise was also low on the list of reactions. “This is something we could have seen – and did see – coming ten years ago,” they refrained, pointing to their privacy and security work as existing solutions.  

“Privacy is all about personal control: Individuals must be able to decide who is permitted to gain access to their personal data and to whom it may be disclosed. Privacy by Design embodies personal control as an essential feature of embedding privacy into one’s operations – proactively baking privacy into a company’s policies and systems, in order to prevent privacy harms from arising,” said Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Distinguished Expert-in-Residence, Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence at Ryerson University. “Privacy as the default is one of the 7 Foundational Principles of PbD, which states that you shouldn’t have to ask for privacy, it should be automatically given, as the default setting. Facebook offered none of these features in their dealings with Cambridge Analytica.”

The scale and publicity of this data access breach demonstrates an adage the community has clung to that has remained true across industries and platforms for years: If you are not paying to use a service, you are the product. An invisible trade-off has been happening for years and the Digital Identity industry has been working to develop better approaches and solutions that prioritize user-centred design, transparency, and tools to help people manage access to personal data.

Recognizing the Role of Regulation

Personally, the most surprising part of the story was how quickly a tool designed for advertising could be repurposed to influence people’s political activity. While we have rules and regulatory schemes for anti-money laundering and purchasing political ads, no strong regulations exist that apply to the rapidly changing and globally connected digital advertising space.

Privacy regulatory schemes must not be only focused on building walls around data for protection. These schemes must also empower Canadians to have control and make informed choices about their data. Regulations must be aligned with access to tools and frameworks that empower citizens, businesses, and government to make better choices.

 

Facebook recently noted, on April 4, 2018, that half a million Canadians might have also had their data swept up by Cambridge Analytica. Despite protections in place in Canada, when we are working online the rules become less clear. Borders aren’t distinct online and there is no ubiquitous data policy or protections in place. Being in Canada or a Canadian citizen does not guarantee protection or exempt us from access and privacy issues on global platforms.

Converging Challenges

The events only serve to reinforce why, beyond privacy and consent controls, we would also benefit from assurance that an anonymous person is in fact a human and not a bot – and more transparency surrounding the origin of content online. Particularly when considering government consultations and Canadian civic engagement, digital ID that lets a person authenticate while protecting their anonymity is an essential piece of creating more secure, reliable, and trustworthy digital networks. Our Digital Citizen Engagement Whitepaper with PlaceSpeak outlines additional reasons this verification is essential for better consultation and inclusive, representational digital democracy.

The Cambridge Analytica news, combined with Russian bots, illuminates a climate where misinformation is rampant and having the option for anonymity and assurance of identification are both critical. Not only are users’ data being accessed by third parties, but these third parties are advancing discourse in regional and national conversations that do not necessarily reflect the views of constituents. Data scraping and fake bots have created a multi-pronged challenge that must be addressed in order to protect diverse voices and authentic conversations in a democratic public sphere.

Moving Forward

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica events, we are left with a timely and widely resonating illustration of how important is it to:

  • Establish Robust Frameworks: Prioritize an evolving Pan-Canadian Trust Framework for interoperability that puts Canadians at the centre of the design
  • Position Canada for Open Data Success: Build upon Canadians’ ability to have transparency around data, access data, and use it in ways they feel most important
  • Advance Privacy and Security by Design: From the foundational frameworks to the solutions within it, privacy and security must come first

The data access breach has brought wide-scale attention and media coverage, advancing the role of personally identifiable information, consent, and privacy in the minds of the public. Our community has the opportunity to use these unfortunate circumstances to continue the conversation and educate Canadians more about their data and digital information.

Collaboration in our diverse community is critical for a higher standard, to ensure that Canadian principles are prioritized in global solutions. Canada’s cooperative approach, talent, and diversity can provide a model for our peers around the world. Together, we can ensure all stakeholders have access to the necessary tools to meet and exceed regulations in a way that prioritizes Canadians while meeting the needs of businesses and governments. With a united approach, the Canadian ecosystem can truly reflect the best of what the public and private sectors have to offer to grow economic and societal opportunities.

The DIACC strives to create opportunities for these issues to be addressed, in authentic and cooperative multi-stakeholder conversations. Collaborating on the interoperability framework is critical to avoid finding ourselves in a position where we have to adopt tools that were built without our priorities included. Get in touch to get involved with our community and share your input on our Pan-Canadian Trust Framework.

Spotlight on Hypersecu

Watch the video interview with CEO James Li:

1. What is the mission and vision of Hypersecu?  

Hypersecu Information Systems is a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation, founded in 2009. Our mission and vision are to provide top-of-the-line information security hardware products for digital identity and authentication. Our products are built on international standards-based protocols, are cost effective, and are open to competitive market forces in order to meet a broad range of users’ needs. At Hypersecu, we strive to ensure trust in the digital world.

2. Why is trustworthy digital identity critical for existing and emerging markets?

Global businesses today are highly reliant on digital transactions for both existing and emerging markets. For example, traditional payment methods are quickly being replaced by mobile payments and online payment services, which increases the need for proper identity authentication. Indeed, some businesses may rely exclusively on digital access alone. No digital transaction, including e-commerce, will be safe without a trustworthy digital identity. As a result, it’s extremely important that every user can be assured that their valuable digital identities are secure and managed responsibly.

3. How will digital identity transform the Canadian and global economy? How does Hypersecu address challenges associated with this transformation?

Digital identity is the cornerstone of the digital economy. Authentication ensures digital identity can be validated properly and is essential for all digital transactions, which greatly affects the Canadian and global economy.

The biggest challenge when implementing digital identity and authentication is ease of use and cost-effectiveness. We directly address these challenges by offering international standards-based identity and authentication products at a lower total cost of ownership and with user-friendly interfaces. Those in the digital economy can then easily integrate these technologies into their day-to-day business with little disruption.

In 2017, we delivered 4 million smart card-based HyperPKI tokens to India for local businesses to digitally file and sign their tax returns. The large number of users demonstrates how a framework using digital authentication can be effectively implemented and how that can translate to implementing a similar framework in Canada. In fact, we became the first Canadian hardware authentication vendor to credit unions across Canada. Helping credit unions secure their online wire payments is just the start. Our goal is to provide further tools and resources to address the challenges associated with digital identity, both locally and globally.

4. Why did Hypersecu join the DIACC?

Building a secure digital Canada requires knowledge and input from all those in the industry, regardless of their role, size, or sector of business. The DIACC builds a great platform for everyone to work together towards a safer digital world. As one of the top information security hardware vendors for digital identity and authentication and with many years working with global clients, we believe we can offer valuable input to help the DIACC achieve its goals.

5. What else should we know about Hypersecu?

Focusing on information security hardware products, we’ve delivered more than 5 million HyperPKI smart card-based USB token, HyperOTP one-time password tokens, HyperFIDO U2F security keys, and other products to multiple sectors around the world including enterprises, government agencies, small to medium businesses, K-12 schools, universities, and individuals.

We firmly believe in the value of hardware-based authentication products. Smart card-based products are currently recognized as the best technology for identity applications that must meet advanced security requirements such as those used by government agencies. As a result, we’re dedicated to working on finding that a critical balance between high-level security and user-friendliness, as well as the total cost of ownership, to ensure that every individual can benefit from these technologies in the digital world.

 

New Year, New Opportunities in Digital Identity

We’re always looking for ways to engage members and drive awareness, progress, and change in digital identification and authentication. Placing Canada on the global stage and uniting the Pan-Canadian community are our priorities year after year, and as technology advances and Canadian talent continues to develop at an accelerated pace they become even more critical for success.

This year, we are continuing our mission to catalyse new connections and drive innovation to create value for our members. 2018 is shaping up to be a year full of opportunity and strides toward an even more inclusive and progressive digital identity ecosystem.

Across Canada

Talent and expertise in digital identity are not limited to a single area of the country. From coast to coast, Canadians are driving innovation and leading digital identity advances that address the Canadian context while remaining applicable to systems, individuals, and relationships worldwide.

Canada is small enough to be agile and large enough to be significant. Canada needs to solve digital ID to make sure that every Canadian can access the benefits of the digital economy — from our urban centres to our rural towns. We imagine a time when Canadians no longer need to move urban hubs to do business or in order to participate in the next science and research opportunity.  Canadians shouldn’t need to be limited by location to contribute, collaborate, and drive progress.

This year, we believe there will be a greater focus on leveraging talent and innovation from across all of Canada. Plans for the first IdentityNORTH event in Quebec and interest in activating on the east coast will bring more of our innovators into the fold.

Canada is already seen as a leader in personal data protection. The country is widely recognized as a proactive digital society. We’re ready to take the next steps to realize our collective potential through cross-sector collaboration. With significant and sustained investment in digital Canada we’ll reach our goal, as many private advancements and public initiatives dovetail and rely on each other for deeper progress.

Across the World

In the year ahead, more collaboration across borders will lead to a Canadian principled and globally interoperable more integrated system. Sharing best practices and circulating innovation around the world will ensure even more robust solutions are created that meet the needs of Canadians. Canada needs to be a leader in digital ID to secure our principles in the digital economy, and in today’s global context, leadership can no longer be limited to a single market or ecosystem.

DIACC operates as a “Canada first” council and, in our global and interconnected world, being Canada first means being international. Our citizens and our businesses need to be able to compete at the forefront of global digital transformation. Inclusion of international members and placing Canadian innovation on the global stage at events like The Point and European Identity Conference ensures the country remains connected to the global conversation and top of mind as leaders in the space.

Bold advancements from India, Estonia, New Zealand, and Australia offer a lens on potential routes forward for Canada, while also emphasizing the distinct challenges and opportunities that exist within different countries. Learning from their paths forward, while recognizing the unique considerations for Canada, offers insight into what is possible.

Across the Organization

Our members offer insight into the huge opportunity space and scope of impact of digital identity. The new Outreach Expert Committee and Innovation Expert Committee will strengthen member relationships and ensure diverse stakeholders have influence over our initiatives. As we advance thought leadership and awareness through publications, including use cases, innovation papers, and other materials, we will continue to promote members and facilitate conversations.

DIACC has been very successful in recent years in educating business, legal, and technical decision makers. We’re going to amplify that success and connect even more knowledge-sharing, influence, and impact across our membership. Throughout 2018, we will focus on accelerating the standards needed to secure technical, business, and policy interoperability. 2018 is poised to mark a year of real world services that deliver choice, context, and value to all Canadians.

Explore New Opportunities with the DIACC

DIACC works best when we can provide strategic insight, analysis, and opportunities for our members. Whether you have been a part of the DIACC for years or are considering joining, we are always open to member initiatives, sparking new relationships, and facilitating collaboration opportunities.

From industry publications to intensive workshops and design challenges, we strive to create diverse ways for our community to engage, evolve, and promote their areas of expertise as it relates to digital identity.

Get in touch to tell us your idea for advancing the digital identification and authentication conversation in Canada or to learn more about becoming a DIACC member.

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