“…WISeKey emphasized its compliance with the United Nations’ ID2020 program, an initiative aimed at extending official identity systems to everyone in the world, with an estimated 1.3 billion people currently thought to be undocumented, a status that can seriously hinder the ability to access vital government services.”

Geneva-based WISeKey has announced a new “Universal Decentralized Identification”, or “UID” system.

The UID system is based on WISeKey’s CertifyID BlockChain platform, which enables the creation of digital IDs on across a distributed ledger. CertifyID operates via a mobile app called WISeID, which secures the user’s data with a combination of facial recognition and password or pattern authentication.

In a statement announcing the identity platform, WISeKey emphasized its compliance with the United Nations’ ID2020 program, an initiative aimed at extending official identity systems to everyone in the world, with an estimated 1.3 billion people currently thought to be undocumented, a status that can seriously hinder the ability to access vital government services. The company says it “is already implementing its Digital Identity platform with several countries around the world.”

A number of other firms are also seeking to pioneer blockchain-based identity technology, very often using mobile devices as the central physical mechanism through which these systems operate for end users. Meanwhile, the UN’s refugee agency has increasingly championed biometric technology as a means of reliably identifying individuals lacking official documentation, a stance that offers some validation to WISeKey’s approach and those of other companies seeking to apply contemporary mobile biometrics technology to this vital area of concern.

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October 16, 2018 – by Alex Perala