Digital Identity and Why Digital Trust Matters

The Hon. Victor Dominello, CEO, Future Government Institute

Victor Dominello’s keynote focussed on digital identity and the importance of digital trust:

• Tangible productivity gains: Robust digital identity systems can unlock substantial economic benefits, with estimates suggesting $19 billion to $32 billion in annual productivity dividends.
• User-centric adoption: The NSW Digital Driver's License achieved an 85% voluntary adoption rate and 93% satisfaction, proving that convenience and usability drive widespread acceptance.
• Identity as a security foundation: A strong digital identity framework acts as a critical security gateway, essential for preventing fraud and enabling efficient service delivery.
   

• The "trust temple" framework: Digital trust is built on four pillars: Who (identity), What (verifiable credentials), Where (context and jurisdiction of interaction), and Why (the intent and ethical considerations).
• Resilience by design: Organisations must design for failure, focusing on rapid recovery to maintain trust during inevitable breaches. As Dominello stated "If you fall over and somebody picks you up out of the water within 30 seconds, you'll be grateful. And the trauma won't be there. That's resilience. That's trust. We need to build for that."
• AI integration for trust: Implementing AI assurance frameworks is crucial for deploying AI ethically and transparently, building public confidence in new technologies.

Shaping Australia's Digital Identity Future

John Shepherd, First Assistant Secretary, Digital ID and Data Policy Division, Department of Finance

John Shepherd detailed Australia's legislative progress in digital identity, highlighting efforts to streamline verification processes and enhance security. The newly enacted Digital Identity Act 2024 aims to address the current inefficiencies and risks associated with manual identity checks.

• Reducing data proliferation: The digital identity system aims to eliminate the need for individuals to repeatedly provide, and for businesses to collect and store, sensitive identity documents, thereby reducing data breach risks.
• Legislative mandate for trust: The Digital Identity Act 2024 establishes a whole-of-economy system with strong privacy safeguards, including explicit prohibitions on profiling, to foster trust.
• Voluntary and inclusive: The system is fundamentally voluntary, ensuring people retain choice, with provisions for alternative channels if a digital ID is not adopted.

• Regulated accreditation: An accreditation scheme for identity service providers ensures a high bar for security and privacy, overseen by independent regulators.
• Private sector integration: The private sector can apply to join the Australian Government Digital ID System (AGDIS) from December 2026, promoting broader adoption and efficiency gains.
• National interoperability: Collaborative efforts with states and territories are vital to ensure digital IDs and credentials (like driver's licenses) are interoperable across jurisdictions, avoiding issues such as “the COVID check-in problem where you have to have a different one every time you travel to a different state”

The New Digital Identity Era: What Every Business Needs to Know

Panel Discussion: Hosay Mangal (Equifax), John Shepherd (Department of Finance), Anthony Ferrier (Trideca), Natalie Reed (Deloitte)

The panel delved into the practical implications of digital identity for businesses, emphasising its evolution from a compliance task to a strategic tool for enhancing customer experience and driving business growth.

• Strategic enabler: Digital identity is now a strategic enabler for trust, customer experience, and growth, extending beyond mere compliance.
• Addressing legacy barriers: Overcoming outdated technology and processes is key to successful digital identity implementation, allowing businesses to reduce unnecessary data capture.
• Combating AI-driven fraud: Businesses must partner with accredited ID providers to combat sophisticated AI-generated fake documents, rather than relying on internal, manual verification.

• Verifiable credentials for efficiency: Verifiable credentials (e.g., digital certifications) streamline processes by allowing real-time, trusted verification, reducing administrative burdens for businesses.
• Unlocking growth opportunities: Digital identity, particularly through mechanisms like Consumer Data Rights (CDR), can create new revenue streams and differentiate businesses by enabling innovative, data-driven services. AGL's "Electrify Now" platform was cited as an example, which uses CDR to guide customers on an electrification journey.
• Workforce efficiency: Digital identity solutions can be leveraged beyond customer-facing operations to improve internal workforce efficiency and reduce costs associated with onboarding and access management.

Hacking with AI: A Former Black-Hat Hacker's Perspective

Bastien Treptel, Former Black-Hat Hacker, Founder of Ironclad ID

Bastien Treptel offered a stark look at how AI is being weaponised by cybercriminals, lowering the barrier to entry for malicious activities and escalating the sophistication of attacks.

• AI lowers entry barrier: AI has "completely destroyed the barrier to entry" for hacking, enabling even non-coders to execute complex attacks and creating new vulnerabilities at an alarming rate (e.g., generating "zero days" in 20 minutes).
• AI-enhanced social engineering: Criminals leverage AI to craft highly convincing social engineering scams, including deepfakes and real-time voice cloning, to manipulate employees and bypass traditional security controls.
• Compromised identity credentials: Millions of leaked passwords on the dark web make organisations vulnerable. Businesses must actively monitor for compromised corporate credentials and enforce immediate access revocation.
• Vulnerability of critical infrastructure: Even in developed nations, critical infrastructure remains alarmingly susceptible to attacks, with the potential for long-term disruption to essential services.
• Layered security is paramount: Pure technology solutions are insufficient; organisations require muti layered controls, combining human vigilance, AI tools, robust processes, and systems to achieve effective defence.

Speakers at the Equifax Frontiers event included The Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Assistant Minister for Immigration, who discussed the critical intersection of national security and the integrity of Australia's digital economy, highlighting government initiatives and partnerships to combat financial crime, money laundering, and identity theft in a globalised world.

Tehani Legeay Equifax GM of Identity & Fraud Services unpacked the complexities of modern fraud and presented a clear 'blueprint for shared trust' to guide the industry forward.

Stephen Devitt from Equifax and Marina Lee from IDVerse engaged in discussions on topics such as The Role of GenAI in Digital Trust. Another key focus was Staying Ahead of AML/CTF, presented by Neil Jeans from Grant Thornton, alongside panels that included The Social Impact of Fraud and Learnings from Tranche 1.

Equifax fraud and identity solutions leverage multiple data points, powerful trust signals and artificial intelligence to prevent, detect and protect, securing customer interactions with less friction.

Contact Equifax today to learn more about our leading identity protection and fraud detection solutions.

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Note: Graphs are shared with the generous permission of our presenters. Graph 1: The Hon. Victor Dominello. Graph 2: John Shepherd. Graph 3: ID Verse.