Digital trust 101
Digital trust is all about providing secure and privacy-preserving ways for people and organizations to share things and communicate online.
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Why digital trust is important
People want to accomplish more online. At the same time, cybersecurity threats like identity theft are also increasing.
We need to keep improving our tools and solutions to counter those threats and to help keep people’s information safe.
Digital trust goes beyond just providing secure access and identity. It also covers:
- Encrypted, private messaging
- Ongoing, confidential relationships and data exchanges
- Filling in and signing things digitally, in a secure and authentic way
Digital credentials and online identity solutions are means to increase digital trust online by offering secure and easy-to-verify ways for people to show who they are on the internet. Both play a key role in keeping our online interactions and transactions both safe and reliable, but they serve different purposes
Understanding digital credentials
Digital credentials are digital equivalents of credentials like licences, identity documents and permits. They’re stored in a digital wallet such as the BC Wallet smartphone app.
For government, digital credentials help combat fraud and offer a higher level of privacy and security. They help make our services more efficient.
How digital credentials can improve service
The benefits of digital credentials include:
- Preserving privacy. A person only provides the parts of their digital credentials’ information that’s needed for a situation
- Empowering people with more control over their personal information. A person approves every use of their digital credentials
- Providing flexibility. People can use them instantly, at any time of the day or night, on weekends and on statutory holidays. They can also be used in-person as well as online
- Increasing reach. Digital credentials can be used by both the government and the private sector
- Continuous improvement and interoperability. They adhere to open standards and technologies
Digital credential examples
In B.C., digital credential solutions are being used by government in a variety of projects to streamline and secure services. Three examples:
- The Energy and Mines Digital Trust (EMDT) project uses digital credentials to improve trust, transparency and efficiency in the mining sector
- OrgBook BC helps people, businesses, and government groups in BC easily find trusted information about BC organizations
- Through the Justice project, lawyers use digital credentials to access sensitive court materials online, as well as many other applications
The difference between digital credentials and online identities
Digital credentials are used to prove anything about a person or an organization. For example, a person could have a digital credentials to prove:
- Their educational qualifications
- Their employment by a particular business
- They have a hunting or fishing licence
Online identities are specifically used for identifying a person or organization online. For example, a person could use an online identity to log in to a government service.
An online identity doesn’t have to be based on digital credentials.
In B.C., we have 4 online identity solutions, 2 of which are based on digital credentials.
Explore digital trust solutions
- Find the digital credential solutions for your needs
- Explore online identity solutions and how they compare to each other
- Contact our team to discuss how your team could benefit from digital trust