Europeans are open to adopting federated identification systems to expedite access to online services according to a new survey from Unisys Corporation.
More than half (52%) of European said they are open to adopting federated identification, will allows a single electronic identity to be used by citizens across multiple organisations for easy verification and assertion of attributes online.
Surveying more than 3,500 Europeans across seven countries in Europe, Unisys asked consumers their opinions on federated identity, biometric authentication for access to their online accounts and attitudes on sharing personal data.
Fifty-one percent said they would share their biometric data for improved online security, while 41% said they would share their biometric data for access to multiple online accounts such as those for government, banking and social media.
According to the survey, 33% said speedier access to government and banking services was a prceived benefit of sharing their biometric data with a federated identity program, while 28% said it would reduce costs.
Salvatore Sinno, global chief security architect, Unisys, said, “In the future, centralized ID services are likely to include a mixture of on-device checks and on-server authentication, where personal biometric data is verified by a service provider. That means service providers need to join forces to win the hearts and minds of consumers, explain what security measures they have in place and how they manage personal data. The incoming General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) will bring data security and privacy rights to the top of the consumer agenda, so service providers’ security strategies need to be clarified quickly.”
European citizens also appear to have an appetite for federated identity, however, 51% of respondents said they would demand that organisations explain the security measures they would use to protect their biometric data before sharing it.
Thiry-five percent said they would support federated identity if it was backed by companies with which they already have online accounts and 29% said they would share biometric data if their peers signed up to do so.
In the UK, the government’s GOV.UK Verify program is up and running to provide the public with digital identity management, and several banks and public sector organizations are signed up to or testing the scheme.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
