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July 2021

EU COVID Passport Goes Live

As of 1 July 2021, all European Union citizens and residents, as well as specific categories of travellers from third party countries.

June 2021

Plans For a New European Digital Identity

The proposal comes after a consultation that collected views from stakeholders on planned revisions to the eIDAS regulation, which includes extending it to the private sector (see IDN August 2020).

May 2021

China’s International Travel Health Certificate

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China officially launched China’s ‘International Travel Health Certificate’ (ITHC) in the middle of March 2021.

The first episode in a three-webinar online event exploring digital health passes and the relation between vaccination certificates and digital ID systems was held on 8 April focusing on policy issues.

March 2021

France’s New National Identity Card

According to the news briefing given on the website of the Ministère de l´Intérieur, the new identity card is more secure, more practical and its design has been modernised from the previous format that was introduced in 1995. One of the main aims of the update is to renew efforts to fight identity fraud.

February 2021

Good Health Pass Collaborative Publishes White Paper

Members of the GHP CollaborativeI include digital identity alliance ID2020, Mastercard, Airport Council International (ACI), Commons Project Foundation, COVID-19 Credentials Initiative, Hyperledger, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Linux Foundation Public Health and IBM.

January 2021

Airlines Trial COVID-19 Health Passports

As air travel continues to remain significantly subdued amid the pandemic, several airlines have been exploring the idea of implementing some form of health verification process to get passengers into the skies again.

December 2020

UK Government Opens Identity Confirmation to Commercial Services

The GDS is doing this by making the Document Checking Service (DCS) available to a group of commercial companies on a trial basis. The project aims to reduce barriers to users being able to do things online – in particular, being able to prove their identity easily and safely.

November 2020

Putting Your 3D Finger on a Biometric Security Solution

Research into biometric authentication, in which unique anatomical features provide secure recognition of a particular individual, has included the potential use of biophotonics and bioimaging techniques for some time. However, the need for increased accuracy has always been a limiting factor.

October 2020

The Future of Biometrics is in the Palm of Your Hand

Your palm is unique: that particular combination of veins, lines and creases is like no other. That uniqueness makes it a prime candidate for use in the field of biometrics, joining other techniques such as fingerprint, facial and voice recognition.

September 2020

AUGENTIC and INCM win Cameroon Passport Contract

A 10-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract has been signed with the General Delegation for National Security (GDNS) in Yaoundé, Cameroon between HE Martin Mbarga Nguele – the Delegate General for National Security, and Labinot Carreti – CEO of AUGENTIC on behalf of the German-Portuguese consortium.

August 2020

Germany to Begin Rollout of Open National Digital Identity Service

The smartphone manufacturer is working with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Bundesdruckerei and Deutsche Telekom Security ‘to develop a hardware-based security architecture that allows citizens to securely store their national ID on their smartphone as an eID,’ Samsung said.

July 2020

Developing a Sports Digital Health Passport to Bring Fans Back to Stadiums

Avi Lasarow, Chief Executive for the EMEA region at Prenetics, told Reuters that the Hong Kong-based biotechnology firm is developing a secure test-evidencing and access system that is believed to be the first such offering for sports.

June 2020

IDEMIA and Sopra Steria Sign Biometric Database Contract with eu-LISA

The contract was awarded following a competitive call for tender (LISA/2019/RP/05 EES BMS and sBMS) by eu-LISA. Under the contract, which has a four year term extendable for up to six years, the consortium needs to complete the development of the sBMS by 2022.

May 2020

ID Enabled Digital Government Services – Now More Than Ever

Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, there was growing evidence of the benefits for eGovernment solutions being accessed by a citizen’s eID. We take a look at two different perspectives on this: one from professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY), from before the outbreak, and the other more recent one from identity solutions provider, Veridos.

April 2020

Contact Tracing COVID-19 Without Disclosing Identity

Apple and Google are jointly developing technology to alert people if they have recently come into contact with others found to be infected with coronavirus. The two companies believe their approach – designed to keep users, whose participation would be voluntary and anonymous – addresses privacy concerns.