The Changing Face of Identity Security: 5 Emerging Digital Identity Trends

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As the world continues to dive into digitization, it’s vital to keep yourself up-to-date with relevant digital identity trends for 2022.

Since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is increasingly shifting to online and digital means. As a result of this transition, digital identity has become more and more prominent across the world, enabling industries and consumers to interact on a global scale.

To keep you up-to-date with the ever-changing landscape of digitization, here are five of the most prominent digital identity trends you should look out.

1. Increased demand for online trust

Digital identity has become a solid foundation of our rapidly evolving technology-based and data-driven economy and society. It allows users efficient and convenient access to their online properties, enabling them to transact and communicate with merchants, sellers, investors and other similar users.

As the digital market increases, the demand for user trust and confidence also follows suit. Around 36% of key industry players and commerce leaders are predicting that the majority of their income will be generated from online or digital channels for the next three years. That said, boosting consumer trust and confidence among online merchants is anticipated to help enterprises continue their operations while adapting to new ways of doing business.

New Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) strategies must come into play to help establish trust among users. Using CIAM features such as frictionless logins, centralized databases, effective data management and compliance and smart security methods enables you to instill confidence among your consumers as digitization continues to grow.

2. New technology for identity checks

The ongoing developments of digital solutions utilizing biometrics and blockchain for identification is seen to become a standard within a few years. Already, a majority of today’s handheld devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) make use of biometrics as a form of security method that links to a user’s digital identity.

Biometrics are a reliable and frictionless way of identifying and authenticating a customer’s digital identity. At present, the most commonly used biometrics techniques are:

  • Facial recognition (such as a face ID feature in several smartphones)
  • Voice recognition (generally used as command-type actions for AI assistants)
  • Fingerprint scans

Several identity and access management developments are also looking into using behavioral aspects of an individual such as analyzing signatures, keystroke patterns and vocal amplitudes. Moreover, new technologies like Self-Sovereign ID, Zero-Knowledge Proofs and NFT can also provide further authentication tactics.

Keeping an eye on modern day authentication processes can benefit your company in the long run. The best CIAM solutions focus on implementing frictionless logins that utilizes Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Single Sign-On (SSO) and biometrics as a primary method of identity verification.

3. Increased complexity to fraud

Despite having a growing number of improved digital security measures, fraudulent activities such as card payment fraud, phishing, account takeover, electronic transfer fraud, IP theft and piracy and social engineering are also expected to evolve and commit more sophisticated crimes.

In a GBG survery in 2020, approximately 26% of businesses felt that they were least prepared to handle and counter synthetic identity fraud. This type of fraud involves combining authentic and fake personal information to create fake identities and using them to commit fraud.

The best way to counter such fraudulent actions is to incorporate a robust and effective security method, while keeping them updated to current data security trends, to help decrease your company’s chances of encountering unwanted data breaches and other forms of cyber threats.

4. Alternative identity options

As digitization slowly takes over, it enables enterprises to take down its geo-locational boundaries and reach out to bigger and international markets. That said, the growing demand for Digital IDs or other forms of alternative identity options are becoming more and more prominent.

Although holding valid identification is crucial to ensure proper authentication, not everyone has access to such privilege. According to studies, only one third of Americans hold a valid ID such as passports and driver’s licenses and at least 10% of the world’s population lacks a legal ID.

Developing digital IDs that are verified through a series of methods, such as providing social security numbers, date of births, etc., can significantly increase the number of users you have while ensuring that such users are real people. Moreover, digital or alternative IDs can help in fostering a more inclusive digital space to those who have access to it.

5. Evolving data privacy regulations

Innovation always comes with a new set of rules. As digital identities and data management practices begin to evolve, its rules and regulations are also bound to change and increase in complexity, depending on the intensity of the data being used.

Although such regulations are made to ensure both customers and enterprises are safe, it can become a hassle for enterprises to constantly be aware of current data privacy laws. Having a sound CIAM platform can help reduce the friction between data compliance requirements, such as reporting and deleting data.

CIAM solutions make use of a centralized approach to data management and storage, so that you won’t have to sift through documents upon documents whenever compliance season comes. Its features allow you to automatically gather, collate and analyze select data and submit them to relevant data privacy organizations to always keep your company fully compliant.

Stay on top of digital identity trends

In every enterprise you pursue, developments and changes are bound to adjust your methods to stay relevant and timely to the current needs of consumers. Keeping track of these identity trends can help you prepare and assess future decisions that can benefit your company. Moreover, ensuring that your company is on top of digital identity trends enables you to expand and improve your operations, placing you ahead of your competitors.

Having CIAM strategies in your business operations already provides you with a visible head start due to its scalability features, allowing you to continuously cater to new and innovative software without compromising your platform.