Biometric authentication, mDLs, digital wallets and passkeys on the cusp

Biometric authentication is a common factor in the digital identity trends of the week, the past year and possibly the next, as seen in the most-read articles on Biometric Update. mDLs are about to hit the mainstream in the U.S., according to Trinsic, digital wallets are already on their way into everyday use in Europe, and Signicat is building up its wallet capabilities to serve the burgeoning market. The FIDO Alliance is celebrating milestones in passkeys adoption. In digital payments likewise, Mastercard, Deloitte and Visa expect biometric authentication, digital wallets, AI and passkeys to be big trends for 2025.

Most read biometrics news of the week

Mobile driver’s licenses will be issued by half of America’s states next year, Trinsic CEO Riley Hughes predicts. A webinar from the company reviewed the dramatic steps towards maturity taken by mDLs over the past year, and those on the horizon, including for the digital wallets that will store them, the trust frameworks that underpin them and relying party adoption.

A consensus is emerging among the UK’s daily newspapers that digital ID can help the nation address several of its pressing challenges, like cutting the cost of public service delivery and reducing the flow of undocumented migrants. Editorials in the Financial Times, Daily Mail, The Times and Sky News all make similar arguments.

Signicat has introduced the feature for adding data to digital wallets that it tested in the NOBID pilot to its platform, just as the Swiss Bankers Association takes up the cause of wallet adoption. Most Latvians are not aware that the deadline for them to have the option of downloading a EUDI Wallet is 2026, but Italians can already digitize their identity documents in the IT Wallet.

FIDO passkeys are another digital identity technology that is taking off, with consumer awareness up 50 percent and 15 billion online accounts secured. Big tech is on board, Japan is joining in, and Microsoft may have learned a valuable lesson about OTPs.

Forecasts for the year ahead in digital payments include Mastercard seeing more biometric authentication and digital wallets, and even more AI, according to Deloitte. Visa predicts more transactions with its passkey solution, and FIDO Alliance Executive Director Andrew Shikiar says even the big banks will come around next year.

A hack of Rhode Island’s digital public assistance programs provides a stark reminder of the importance of transitioning away from password authentication and towards zero-trust architectures. The RIBridges system, developed by Deloitte, was taken offline on Friday the 13th after highly sensitive personal information had probably already been stolen.

The FBI BioSpecs site was taken offline earlier this week by a DDoS attack claimed by a “Mr Hamza,” Cyber Daily reports. The threat actor has a history of DDoS and digital vandalism attacks against Israeli government and defense targets.

Hikvision has canceled a bundle of biometric surveillance contracts in the Xinjiang region, perhaps attempting to avoid further sanctions from the incoming Trump Administration in the U.S. The five contracts are estimated to be worth over a hundred million dollars in total.

Malawi is up to 3 million national ID cards personalized, with the release of a batch printed in-country with an Emptech printer. The milestone represents a rapid improvement from 1 million cards delivered in June, and provides hope that the country will reach its goal of issuing one to all eligible citizens out of an estimated population of 21.7 million.

Sierra Leone’s NCRA is sending a mobile biometrics enrollment unit to perform civil registration and provide ID services for the students and staff at the country’s universities, along with surrounding communities. The initiative is intended to reduce the difficulties and costs associated with travel and scheduling to register for the national ID.

Attorneys General of nearly half of U.S. states have composed an amici (as in plural of “amicus”) brief opposing the novel settlement between Clearview AI and plaintiffs in multi-district litigation, and asked the court to consider it. They say the deal is inadequate in multiple ways. The court accepted later this week.

Please tell us if you see any interviews, webinars or other content we should share with the people who work in biometrics and the digital identity community, either in the comments below or through social media.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  week in review