The Role of Digital Identity in Smart Cities

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digital identity for smart cities

In a ‘smart city’ it’s not only what you know – it’s who you know.

As cities across the world upgrade their digital infrastructure to facilitate the transition to smart cities, one of their first tasks must be to assess their approach to identity, and particularly digital identity, an emerging technological cornerstone that promises to revolutionise the way governments, businesses, and individuals connect in a trustworthy way.

Digital identity allows for trusted connectivity

Cities around the world are upgrading their digital and physical infrastructure to support national development goals and accommodate growing rural-urban migration. With 68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, the need is pressing.

The promise of the ‘smart city’ shines in the distance.

The term ‘smart city’ has a strong digital connotation and government focus, but it goes much further. It’s really about connectivity, and harnessing technology to bridge a city’s physical / digital divide. A smart city relies on pervasive and constant connectivity to support smart buildings, smart mobility, and a smart environment. It promises a smart government providing smart public services and supporting a smart economy, smart healthcare and smart education. The goal is to increase efficiency and improve public services, quality of life and economic growth.

This pervasive connectivity is of course fueled by data – lots of data.

In a smart city, data is accessed from a multitude of systems and sectors to monitor, analyse, plan, and govern the city. Data is also shared by and between the government, individuals, businesses, and other third parties with the expectation of making traditional systems, networks and services more efficient and creating opportunities for increased understanding and economic benefits.

But if the connected parties of a smart city are to trust the volumes of data needed to operate intelligently, they must also be able to trust the source(s), i.e., from whom (individual, organisation, institution…) or from what (sensor, device, autonomous vehicle …) that data originates. If parties cannot trust the source(s) of the data, they cannot trust the data, and the ability of a city to move into ‘smart’ territory is severely hampered.

So a city can only truly begin to be ‘smart’ if it knows who and what is connected.

This underlines the importance of digital identity infrastructure as an integral component of a smart city. Or as Prof. Bill Buchanan OBE writes, “Without a proper digital identity infrastructure …, we build on sand.”

And so, one of a city’s first tasks on its journey to a smart city must be to develop a well-defined and forward-thinking approach to digital identity, often referred to as the ‘missing layer’ of the internet.

The importance of common identity protocols

One of the biggest challenges then is related to the variety of digital identity infrastructure and platforms being used across all of the connected people, organisations and things in a city.

The ability for different parties in a smart city to connect ultimately boils down to access and permissions: who or what has access to which information, services, or rights. And if different sub-ecosystems within a city are using different technologies to administer their identity-based access and permissions, then the connections necessary to approve or deny access and keep the smart city humming along are hindered. So while digital identity infrastructure is one of the foundational components of a smart city, the corollary non-negotiable feature is interoperability.

The need for interoperability points to the importance of first aligning identity protocols before platforms or tools.

This is why emerging protocols and open standards for digital identity technologies have attracted so much attention and are positioned to play an important role in laying the foundations for smart cities and the services they provide and enable.

Developing cutting-edge digital identity solutions

Emerging technologies such as decentralised identifiers, verifiable credentials, open wallets and distributed ledger technology, among others, are all helping to advance the development of scalable, modular, and secure digital trust and digital identity solutions.

As these emerging open technologies and protocols are adopted at scale by the various departments, sectors, and sub-ecosystems in a city, the ease of interoperability increases, trusted data can flow, and a city takes another step in its journey to become smart.

It must also be noted that a smart city must have a healthy preoccupation with security in the digital sphere just as it does in the physical world, fulfilling “the oldest and simplest justification for government” as protector.

Digital identity solutions for a smart city

A smart city must be able to manage the risks arising from the growing amounts of IoT data and ubiquitous connectivity. In light of the rapid and exponential advances of AI and the fast-approaching quantum computing revolution on the horizon, clear and transparent governance and legal structures are required to help administer ‘sustainable, secure and ethical models that facilitate the dynamic and efficient sharing of IoT data, and that foster innovation while protecting privacy and building trust’.

Digital identity is poised to become the primary means for establishing trusted connections. And a strong and well-defined identity strategy is key to laying the groundwork for a secure, smart city.

BY ERIC DRURY, Digital Identity & Trust Advisor

Links

1.United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, May 2018

2.European Commission Cities and Urban Development – Smart- Cities

3.https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1049/smc2.12044

4.https://billatnapier.medium.com/be-part-of-the-debate-on-identity-d98d3f800f3e

5.https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Unlocking_Shared_Value_Smart_City_Data_2022.pdf