NEC gains accreditation for four digital identity products under NZ trust framework

NEC New Zealand is the first digital identity provider to be accredited under the government’s Digital Identity Services Trust Framework (DISTF). A release from the firm says the accreditation confirms that four of NEC’s digital identity services meet the robust standards for trust required under the DISTF, and calls it “a significant milestone for New Zealand’s digital identity ecosystem.”

“At its core, digital identity is about enabling people to access services quickly, confidently – and ultimately – securely,” says Steven Graham, head of identity cloud establishment ANZ at NEC New Zealand. “Accreditation for four of our digital ID services marks a significant step in NEC NZ’s mission to support a secure, inclusive, and interoperable digital identity ecosystem in New Zealand.”

NEC’s cloud-based digital identity platform, of which the four accredited products are a part, support high-assurance identity verification through facial recognition technology, with a flexible, scalable architecture. Capable of hosting enrolment, identity and document verification, biometric matching, and the creation of a reusable digital ID, the suite has use cases for onboarding, credentialing and AML compliance.

Per the release, where required, it connects to authoritative sources to verify identity attributes to required assurance levels.

NEC has been an early champion of New Zealand’s DISTF. In 2021, the firm co-designed a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) model with AWS and One New Zealand to fit the local context. Graham says the accreditation reflects “years of investment in secure, user-focused technology and highlights our ongoing commitment to helping New Zealand build a future-ready digital identity ecosystem.”

Acting Director of the Digital Trust Framework James Little says accreditation under the Trust Framework is a “rigorous, proactive, and continuous process for organizations to demonstrate to business customers and end users that their services meet robust standards.”

“It has never been more important for New Zealanders to be assured that the services handling their identity information online are secure and privacy preserving.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  certification  |  digital identity  |  Digital Identity Services Trust Framework (DISTF)  |  NEC  |  NEC New Zealand  |  New Zealand  |  trust framework