Demonstrating privacy compliance for trustworthiness
Given the critical nature of data held in digital identity systems there is potential for significant privacy risks, therefore conducting a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is essential. PIAs assists organisations in identifying and minimising the privacy risks of new initiatives, systems and policies, helping ensure that personal data is safeguarded from the increasing levels of threats to privacy. For digital identity systems, this process takes on heightened importance due to several factors:
• Sensitivity of data including biometric information, government-issued identification numbers, and detailed personal profiles
• Scale of data processing, systems potentially managing the identities of millions of individuals
• Complexity of data flows between multiple parties, including identity providers, service providers, and sometimes government entities
• Long-term data retention for extended periods, increasing the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, or function creep over time
• Regulatory compliance, digital identity systems are subject to stringent data protection regulations in many jurisdictions
• User Trust, given the sensitive nature of identity data, maintaining user trust provides many hurdles
PIAs should be a central tool used to mitigate threats to data privacy, unfortunately it can be difficult ensuring that those who handle personal data are empowered appropriately. Therefore, the project team is focused on providing templates-guides that support the teams managing or intending to deploy digital identity systems