Biometric security use up for myGov app; Aussie TEx messaging ramps up

Australia’s Minister for Government Services and the NDIS, Bill Shorten, has issued releases to mark milestones for the myGov app and note the launch of a $11.4 million proof-of-concept for the national digital trust exchange, TEx – a turn that has caught some observers by surprise.

Sign-ins with myGov app now account for more than 30% of total

Shorten says 5.6 million people now use the myGov app to sign in to myGov, and that it has logged more than 122 million sign-ins in the past 18 months. The minister says the achievements show how the myGov app is changing the way Australians connect with the government.

“The myGov app now accounts for more than one-third of the 864,000 average daily sign-ins to myGov, and over half of sign-ins to the app use the quick and simple biometric security features, such as fingerprint or facial recognition,” he says.

Shorten notes that the recent introduction of passkeys in myGov offers secure passwordless login, again leveraging biometric or screen lock features. “In most cases, if your myGov passkey is saved in your password manager and available across devices you can use the same passkey to sign in to both the myGov app and website.”

The ministry has also made progress on its digital wallet scheme, adding digital DVA white and gold veteran cards. “More than 1.5 million digital items have been added to the myGov wallet and viewed over 3.4 million times since December 2022,” Shorten says. “The myGov wallet will become increasingly important as we explore new ways for you to use the verified government credentials in your myGov wallet in your everyday life.

Shorten is also bullish on myGov’s security outlook, despite past issues resulting in fraud losses in the billions. “We’re on the right path with the security and fraud detection improvements already funded as part of the Budget,” he says, “as well as other security enhancements to ensure myGov remains trusted, safe and secure.”

Australia’s 2024 budget earmarked $630 million (US$416 million) over 4 years and $145 million (US$96M) per year ongoing to fund upgrades to myGov’s security and messaging capability.

Google among organizations consulting on TEx

During an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, Shorten expounded on the announcement of the digital trust exchange, which is currently in proof-of-concept stage but is slated to be rolled out in full by the end of the year.

According to the minister, “the technology behind TEx would take all the hassle out of finding dozens of documents to prove who you are when you’re doing things like setting up a bank account or buying a mobile phone or even trying to rent a property. TEx will connect the bank or telco or real estate agent with your digital wallet and you then consent to share only the identity attributes or credentials you choose to.”

Shorten also says Telstra and Google “welcomed the opportunity to be involved in development of TEx.”

TEx tells mDLs: this wallet ain’t big enough for the both of us

TEx has definitely arrived with a bang, sweeping previous plans to integrate mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) into myGov off the table – and causing a stir among opponents who say it’s too risky.

Shorten, for one, believes the trust exchange is a vast improvement over the old plan. InnovationAus quotes him as saying the initially proposed digital credential system would “have essentially been just a picture of a card” shared across state and federal apps.

“TEx will achieve the outcome of the card swap and much more,” he says, noting that the government wants to do as much development of the system as it can in-house. Users will be able to select their digital wallet of choice to house the verifiable credentials, and the system is entirely opt-in.

The national digital trust exchange is part of the Albanese government’s larger digital ID strategy, which also encompasses myGovID, the digital credential used by more than 10 million Australians.

Pointing to major data breaches as proof that “we have to do things differently,” Shorten says “the beauty of TEx is that it is part of the broader interoperable Digital ID system,” which “means reducing the collection, storage and sharing of data across the economy.”

Critics want more detailed information, cooperation with private sector

Not everyone is as keen as Shorten on TEx’s potential. In the wake of the announcement on the digital trust exchange, opinions are flying, with some arguing that it needs more public consultation and others dismissing its lofty digital ID ambitions as impossible.

One noteworthy criticism points to a sizable problem in the evolution of biometrics and digital ID in general: the government stinks at explaining it. Yahoo Finance Australia quotes Cyber Safety Solutions founder Susan McLean, who says TEx is “very promising” but worries that “there is very little detail being provided about the backend, about what it is, how it works, and what sort of safety and security settings” it might have.

“There is nothing that could be 100 percent secure,” she says, noting that there is generally “lack of confidence in a government being able to do anything.”

Other experts call TEx a honeypot, while those in opposition parties peddle their preferred views; shadow government services minister Paul Fletcher of the Liberal Party, for instance, says it’s limiting to try and keep development in the hands of government, and nods at the private sector as a wellspring of innovation. (Fletcher’s detailed views on technology can be found in his lengthy speech to the TechLeaders 2024 Conference.)

“If we are talking about sectors which under leverage the power of digital and technology to operate more efficiently, we cannot go past government,” Fletcher says, in an article in The Mandarin.

Public trust in government in shambles after Robodebit, says prof

Perhaps the truest critique of the trust exchange scheme comes from Toby Murray, associate professor of cybersecurity at The University of Melbourne’s School of Computing and Information Systems. Writing in The National Tribute, Murray says “success will depend on a crucial factor: public trust.”

He points to the Robodebit scandal as a primary reason people may not trust government technology enough to buy into TEx. “In the wake of Robodebt, it’s up to the government to assure Australians the Trust Exchange system can be trusted and will keep their sensitive information secure,” he writes. This will require carefully explaining what information the system will and will not collect about individuals, who will have access to that information and how it will be secured.”

Article Topics

Australia  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  myGov (Australia)  |  passkeys  |  Trust Exchange (TEx)