Strategic planning for digital ID’s AI, quantum computing resilience ramps up

Fears that AI-powered fraud and quantum computing could threaten the encryption and authentication practices that have long formed the foundation of digital trust are prompting governments and businesses alike to think more about identity systems in terms of long-term resilience. If digital ID is to function as digital public infrastructure, then tools like the EU Digital Identity Wallet will need to be adaptable to protect that foundation.

PYMNTS draws a line from strategic planning within the crypto industry to protect against quantum computing to the trend of continuous verification in the digital identity industry. The digital trust model of the connected economy relies on encryption and authentication techniques that quantum computing and AI could render obsolete.

Quantum computing is forecast to arrive anywhere from the day after tomorrow to (more likely) somewhere in the range of 2035 to 2040. If digital identity is to function as critical infrastructure, governments must ensure it remains trustworthy in a post-quantum world. In the meanwhile, “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” attacks could occur at any time.

Thales argues that EUDI Wallets have a major role in Europe’s cyber-resilient future, between their alignment of payment and identity, and authentication using biometric passkeys. Digital wallets protect the personal information included on ID cards through tokenization, which is one of the ways payments and digital identity are converging in this hopefully more future-proof credential ecosystem.

A separate “insights” article from Thales makes the case that for digital ID cards, like those expected to be used to onboard many or most EUDI Wallet users, future cyber resilience means implementing post quantum cryptography. The fears around AI-powered spoofing are behind the inclusion of conformance testing in eIDAS.

Thales urges a forward-looking approach and early preparation.

Article Topics

digital public infrastructure  |  digital trust  |  post-quantum cryptography  |  Thales Digital Identity and Security