Beyond Attributes – Challenges and Opportunities Across the Identity Lifecycle
Current Challenges Throughout the Identity Lifecycle
It’s clear that identity is essential for a wide array of social change objectives and for ensuring access to rights, opportunities, and equity. It’s also clear that identity management is a complex process that features disparate actions undertaken by different stakeholders. To aid in our analysis of why current identity management approaches have not been uniformly successful in achieving relevant social change objectives (and to enable consideration of new and more effective approaches), we identified central identity challenges prevalent at each stage of the identity lifecycle. We also include an illustrative sampling of manifestations of those various challenges.
Click a cube to learn about each stage
Provisioning
Central Challenge(s)
- Coverage and accessibility (Lack of Identity)
- Lack of dignity in some solutions
Example Manifestations of the Challenge
- Unable to obtain housing, create bank account, enroll in school, etc.
- “Invisible” population is at risk of exploitation (trafficking, slavery, etc.).
- Unable to receive basic public services such as healthcare, food subsidy, etc.
- Unable to participate in elections.
Administration
Central Challenge(s)
- Control of Identity – Lack of Autonomy
- Vendor and technology lock-in
Example Manifestations of the Challenge
- Individuals store their IDs with institutions and corporations, thereby surrendering their ability to manage their own identities (e.g., manifested, for instance, in difficulties changing names, addresses, etc.).
Authentication
Central Challenge(s)
- Quality of Identity – Accuracy and Fit for Purpose
- Trust of Identity – Privacy and Security
Example Manifestations of the Challenge
- Identity theft and fraud in financial transactions and beyond.
- Personal information hacking or data breach.
Authorization
Central Challenge(s)
- Fragmentation of Identity – Lack of Interoperability
- Transaction Costs
Example Manifestations of the Challenge
- Different IDs required for different needs – e.g., driver’s license for driving, ATM card for banking, passport for traveling, credit card for retail, birth certificate, insurance card for healthcare, etc.
- High background check fees for accessing housing, employment, and other necessities.
Auditing/Monitoring
Central Challenge(s)
- Lack of transparency, accountability, and information trail
Example Manifestations of the Challenge
- Secondary use of data – no guarantee that data possessed by third parties (such as banks, insurance companies, or social media networks) will not be used for unanticipated or inappropriate purposes.
- Inability to monitor instances where identity information was accessed and for what purpose.
