ID & Secure Document News: Building a Secure Identity Community
ID & Secure Document News™ (IDN) is the authoritative source for news, insight and analysis across the identity and secure document sector. It bridges the physical and digital worlds of identity, providing global coverage of secure documents, digital ID systems, biometrics, authentication technologies, and the policies that shape them.
Founded in 2013, IDN serves the needs of government authorities, document issuers, technology providers, integrators and standards bodies. As identity credentials evolve to meet the challenges of ever shifting methods of fraud, IDN tracks their usage across physical and digital domains.
The scope of IDN spans government-issued documents such as passports, ID cards, driving licences and residence permits, as well as biometric enrolment and authentication systems, mobile and digital IDs, and the materials and technologies that underpin them.
Each edition features technical updates, regulatory developments, and critical evaluations of the technologies underpinning secure credentials – from advanced substrates and optically variable devices to mobile ID, quantum-safe cryptography and AI-driven authentication.
IDN is published monthly as an 8-page specialist newsletter, with supporting weekly news alerts and a searchable archive on its website.
Editorial Team
Francis Tuffy, Editor.
Advisory Board
IDN is supported by a board of advisors who bring a breadth of experience from government, technology and industry associations:
Alan Hodgson – specialist in imaging science, digital printing and smartphone authentication.
John Mercer – identity security consultant with global experience in secure document design.
Mónica Peralta – international consultant on civil registration, legal identity and document examination.
Tony Poole – extensive experience in the industry and has been involved in various initiatives related to secure document production.
Achim Hildebrandt – former Head of Passports and ID Cards, German Federal Ministry of the Interior.
What ID & Secure Document News Covers
- Physical documents: passports, ID cards, driving licences, residence permits, and their substrates and security features
- Digital identity: mobile IDs, decentralised identity and digital wallets
- Authentication: biometrics (face, fingerprint, iris), electronic verification systems, public key infrastructures (PKI)
- Security technologies: optical effects, polycarbonate, hybrid materials, microlens arrays, optically variable devices
- Emerging threats and solutions: AI spoofing, post-quantum cryptography, chip-level security
- Design innovation: documents, case studies, national rollouts and design trends
- Regulatory and policy updates: ICAO, ISO/IEC standards, eIDAS, NIST, and regional initiatives
- Industry developments: mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, tenders and supplier directories
Who Should Read ID & Secure Document News
- Government departments and civil registries
- National printers and secure document issuers
- Standards bodies and technical working groups
- System integrators and software developers
- Biometrics providers and verification platforms
- Security materials and equipment manufacturers
- Academics and consultants specialising in identity systems
- NGOs and multilateral agencies involved in ID for development
- R&D, scientific and technical development organisations
