Southeast Asia’s digital identity landscape is coming of age. Digital identification (ID) is fast becoming a part of everyday life, with nearly every country in the region in varying stages of implementation.

In Indonesia, the government is pushing hard for its over 200 million citizens to adopt Identitas Kependudukan Digital (IKD), also known as Digital Population Identity. Aside from improving access to banking, healthcare, and government services, the digital ID initiative is also part of a larger effort to address cybersecurity concerns. Considering the recent high-profile ransomware attack in June 2024, which crippled numerous government services, the need to ramp up digital ID and secure verification processes has never been more urgent.

With the fundamental steps to build a digital identity ecosystem underway, what future developments await Indonesia? How will new and emerging technologies impact the broader digital identity landscape?

At the Crossroads of Biometrics and Artificial Intelligence

The future of digital ID is in lockstep with advancements in biometrics. By leveraging unique physical characteristics, such as our faces, fingerprints, and even irises, biometrics offer a highly secure verification process — far superior to legacy methods like passwords. Hence, different industries like finance, banking, retail, e-commerce, healthcare, and aviation are increasingly adopting biometric-enabled digital IDs.

The demand for streamlined authentication will drive the increased adoption of biometrics, further fuelling the growth of the digital ID landscape. 

We are already seeing the fruits of advanced biometrics in industries such as aviation. The most recent example was in February 2024 when Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport implemented biometric-based immigration gates. When combined with its Civil Automated Biometric Identification System, which contains a database of over 35 million facial and fingerprint data, these biometric-based electronic gates can authenticate passengers in virtually seconds -- providing a touchless pathway through airports.

As the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) makes its way across the region, it becomes timely to also look at the opportunities AI can offer in the future of digital ID. AI is already prevalent in various biometric identification systems, improving the efficiency, reliability, and accuracy of fingerprint scanning and facial and iris recognition. As AI advances, this will undoubtedly make biometric-enabled digital IDs more foolproof and robust, complete with incredible levels of precision in confirming that someone is who they say they are.

However, AI’s potential for exploitation and risk of cyber threats undoubtedly rings alarm bells. Fortunately, many industries are already taking measures to mitigate or ban malicious applications of AI altogether. Many AI safety frameworks, too, are being developed to facilitate the transparent, understandable and ethical use of AI concerning digital IDs going forward.

Using Technology to Inspire Trust Among the Populace 

As exciting as AI and biometrics are to digital IDs, their success hinges on a very human emotion: trust. 

Indeed, it takes an entire digital infrastructure that is secure and interoperable across different agencies and multiple applications to gain this trust. To that end, governments may consider adding advanced identity verification solutions and digital ID wallets to their national digital ID initiatives to help make digital identification even more secure and, vitally, more trustworthy. 

Users now only need to look into a smartphone camera to authenticate their identities at verification checkpoints. This is the promise of advanced identity verification technologies. In full operation, advanced technologies such as biometric authentication combined with real-time data checks ensure users are who they claim they are. Facial recognition technologies, too, will soon allow users to pass through security checkpoints without a stack of physical documents. 

Then there are digital ID wallets that securely contain all your identification documents. Indonesia’s IKD, for example, doubles up as a digital ID wallet to store identity-related documents, such as identity cards, family cards, and birth certificates. Such virtual wallets not only keep personal data safe with cutting-edge encryption, but they also protect data from unauthorised access and other common cyber threats. Moreover, with digital ID wallets, users get to control their identity privacy by choosing only the information they want to share for each transaction.

Currently, many banks in Indonesia have already implemented solutions, such as hardware security modules, to secure their data and transactions. By integrating identity verification solutions and digital ID wallets, they can create a reality whereby digital identity theft and fraud are minimised. That way, both public and private sectors can thrive on a secure, efficient, and user-friendly digital identity infrastructure. This is the future of identity, where technology makes our lives not only easier but safer too.

Tapping External Expertise and Know-How

In support of its digital ID initiative, Indonesia is working hard in improving the digital connectivity across the archipelago. For instance, when Indonesia’s SATRIA-1 came online in early 2024, the satellite brought high-speed internet to over 145,000 locations that were previously unlinked to any existing satellite or terrestrial infrastructure. Aside from bridging the digital divide, internet access is critical to the success of Indonesia’s digital identity ecosystem. 

Beyond technology, trust itself has emerged as a valuable asset. To build confidence in digital ID, Indonesia must lean into public-private partnerships. By leveraging the innovation and expertise of private entities, governments can enhance the efficiency and security of national digital ID programmes, ensuring systems are robust, inclusive, and resilient against cyber threats.

Ultimately, the integration of these technologies through collaborative efforts will pave the way for a more secure and inclusive digital future, driving economic growth and enhancing the quality of life for all citizens across the region.

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Nicolas Bouverot is the Vice President of Thales in Asia.

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