UK’s One Login still has competition in government

An attractive element of the UK government’s latest single authentication program, One Login, is in its name: One Login.

Generally, the closest an organization can get to “one” in operations, the more efficiency can be had, and the more confidence people will have in it.

So, while the trade and analytical press report that the Cabinet Office’s goal is to have more than 100 services tied into One Login in just two years, there are multiple examples of agencies and regulators seemingly cutting their own ID deals.

An examination of One Login by trade publication Tech Monitor makes comparisons with the authentication app and its defunct predecessor Verify, and it’s not a wholly positive measuring.

What is more interesting are statistics that the Cabinet Office gave the publication.

There are 191 ways for people to set up accounts, presumably with at least that many government agencies. There are 44 sign-in apps peppered among those agency accounts, according to Tech Monitor reporting.

Cleaning that up would save the government money, and it is likely that many people would interact online with services more often if logins were consolidated.

But then comes word that the same government is working on two ways for people to register company directors, people with significant control and others involved with registering firms.

They will be able to verify their identity with the Companies House director or through an authorized corporate service firm.

Legislation is needed to enact the new identity verification steps, and it is not known when that will happen.

Then there is the UK’s General Medical Council, which has hired digital ID vendor Digidentity, to create a method of verifying the identities of doctors working in the country.

Digidentity has said the system it will create will meet the identity-assurance standards of the Science, Innovation and Technology department. And, compared to what is in place now, it will improve the processes speed and security for doctors and council members, according to the company.

It “will be the primary option for all doctors wanting to practice in the UK,” says Digidentity. The online registration change began in April.

And finally, a payments vendor, Nuggets, reportedly is working on a decentralized privacy layer for what some feel is inevitable – a digital pound.

According to reporting by trade publication CoinDesk, the Bank of England has brought in Nuggets in preparation for a decision on the digital pound that could come as early as 2025.

The vendor has said it would create a system of zero-knowledge proofs on its privacy layer, which would enable digital currency holders to authenticate themselves without revealing personal data.

Article Topics

Digidentity  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  Nuggets  |  single sign-on  |  UK