In recent years, the digitalisation of services has become a key area of focus for governments and businesses alike. With digitalisation comes an increasing reliance on digital interactions, and it is therefore becoming paramount for individuals to possess secure, accessible, and verifiable digital identity credentials.

In an article recently published in Securing Industry, Dr Mark Deakes, chair of the new International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA), sets out how optical technologies are spearheading efforts to protect identity documents.

A recent online article from Maryia Valchanina, Head of Data Processing at Regula, sheds light on one of the lesser-discussed challenges in the field of document authentication: the verification of professional identity documents.

Capturing biometric data has traditionally been a time-consuming and labour-intensive process, requiring significant staff intervention, multiple touchpoints, and presenting a heightened risk of human error. Today, the deployment of advanced enrolment kiosks has transformed these tasks, automating each step of data collection and verification to improve efficiency and accuracy.

At the recent High Security Printing™ EMEA conference in Basel, Switzerland, Dr Alexander Brannan from the University of Manchester, and Gary Spinks of Security Fibres UK, presented advances in colour-changing smart materials designed for rapid authentication. This technology addresses key issues in anticounterfeiting by integrating academic research with industrial application.

If you only read media reports, it would be easy to assume that the most significant advances in identity document security stem from digital innovation, with biometric verification, blockchain-based identity management, and digital certificates dominating discussions.

Data both allows and creates questions. Answering questions generates information. Information allows decisions and actions. Without accurate, relevant, reliable, consistent, standardised and timely data, creating and delivering anything is hard, particularly change.

IDEMIA Secure Transactions (IST) has pioneered the use of patented thermo-reactive Liquid Crystal Ink in payment cards, adapting a technology previously used in the fashion industry. This advanced material science innovation enables the ink to transition from black to a dynamic multicolour display when exposed to temperature changes.

The travel and tourism industry is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions. Various studies and reports in recent years have estimated that the industry is responsible for approximately 8-11% of global emissions.

Recent claims that Chinese researchers have cracked military-grade encryption using quantum computing have sparked concern and headlines. However, a further look at the claims reveals that the picture is not quite that straightforward.