Belgium-based digital identity app itsme has acquired NextAuth, a company specializing in multi-factor authentication also based in Belgium. The acquisition is meant to extend itsme’s authentication capabilities with NextAuth’s technology known for its advanced cryptography.
The itsme app, which has nearly 7 million users and is used by over 800 companies, complies with high-level security standards both in Belgium and at a European level. The addition of NextAuth’s technology is intended to further strengthen the app’s end-to-end authentication process. Jens Hermans, CEO of NextAuth, mentioned that the itsme app is the ‘ideal client’ for the technology developed by NextAuth and expressed positivity regarding the collaboration between the two companies.
Previously, itsme collaborated with iProov to integrate its Genuine Presence Assurance technology for liveness detection in its mobile onboarding solution. The partnership aimed to streamline the user verification process by comparing a person’s face with the image on a photo ID. This arrangement helped itsme meet the high-level eIDAS security requirements in Europe, which was part of its objective to extend secure digital identity verification beyond the Belgian market.
In related news, the Belgian government announced plans last year to develop its own mobile ID app. The upcoming app is designed to include a virtual ID card and other government-issued certificates, and will be compatible with eIDAS, NIS2, and Single Digital Gateway Standards. While this app is seen as a potential competitor to itsme, Secretary of State for Digitalisation, Mathieu Michel, stated that companies adhering to government standards could access digital identity data, indicating that itsme would not be replaced.
The acquisition of NextAuth by itsme is part of the ongoing developments in the digital identity verification sector in Belgium, with companies and the government both working towards enhancing security and convenience for users in online interactions.
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October 26, 2023 – by the Mobile ID World Editorial Team
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