A new approach to digital identification Mastercard is looking to implement a new approach for customers to digitally identify themselves. This new service stores and encrypts your digital identity to a phone, but is this reliable and safe? Digital identity management is often used to handle fraud detection and hence reduce identity thefts. However, using digital identity management presents additional challenges in terms of privacy of the identity owner meanwhile managing the security of the verification. Digital identity management is often used to handle fraud detection and hence reduce identity thefts. However, using digital identity management presents additional challenges in terms of privacy of the identity owner meanwhile managing the security of the verification. Data Zoo, in partnership with The University of Technology Sydney, has embarked on redefining the approach to and architecture of a digital identity ecosystem. The benefit and value of this redefined architecture will be in its generic yet comprehensive structure, component orientation and layered approach. Data Zoo is adopting an ecosystem approach towards identity verification process to cover maximum facets involved in the identity lifecycle. Data Zoo’s own Information Security Researcher, Memoona Anwar, this week presented her “Using Adaptive Enterprise Architecture Framework for Defining the Adaptable Identity Ecosystem Architecture” paper at ACIS 2019. For decades, manual collection of private information has been used for multiple purposes e.g. to carry out research on customer behaviours and/or to boost marketing operations. However, with a growing need for higher border control security and the pervasiveness of digital communications, a more consistent and interoperable ID system is needed. All types of ID are based on personal sensitive information and hence carry an inherent risk of misuse. Indeed, electronic forms of ID (or “dematerialised ID”) carry even a higher risk. They have a broader scope and produce huge data about individuals, their online patterns, financial position, acquaintances, and hypothetically political and religious opinions. They are markedly more sensitive and vulnerable to identity theft. Victims of ID theft can be severely affected. ID fraud’s adverse effects are not limited to money only. There are other major impacts such as an emotional toll. Other impacts are harder to assess. Imagine an ID thief using your name leading to law enforcement department arresting you. This would be an extremely traumatic incident with long term cost. It affects your profile and history of background checks. This can impact employment prospects and credit worthiness. Hence, there is a clear need towards a secure, privacy aware and reliable IdM system. This need led to an increased interest in a privacy aware adaptive Identity Ecosystem (IdE) architecture.