Accenture And Microsoft Working Toward Digital IDs Via Blockchain

Providing physical of identity (IDs) may soon become a thing of the past.

While it’s not entirely possible to have the correct identification within reach at all times, there may be a new way to certify someone’s identity without the need to produce papers or a plastic ID card, all while promoting cybersecurity in the process.

This week brings us news that Accenture and Microsoft are partnering up to help develop a digital ID network through the use of distributed ledger blockchain technology. This is part of a larger United Nations-backed project to provide legal identification to people around the world without an official document. The goal of this project is to help refugees (currently 1.1 billion people) prove they are who they say they are in order to receive essential services like education and healthcare.

During the second ID2020 Summit in New York this week, the prototype for this distributed ledger network, which will connect with current record-keeping systems with blockchain technology, was debuted. Thanks to the partnership between Accenture and Microsoft, through this new system, refugees will be able to access their virtual paperwork wherever they’re located.

Accenture’s Managing Director of Financial Services, David Treat, highlighted the importance of legal ID access with this new offering. “Without an identity,” he said, “you can’t access education, financial services, healthcare, you name it. You are disenfranchised and marginalized from society.”