Israel's Cyber Directorate Proposes Unified Digital Wallet for Citizens
Translated & summarized from NEWSru Israel by baba
Israel's National Cyber Directorate has proposed a strategy to create a national digital wallet for citizens to store official documents and allow private companies to verify identities via a central state system. The initiative aims to reduce fraud and bureaucracy by centralizing digital identification and document storage. The plan, developed with several government bodies, is open for public discussion before government approval.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israel's National Cyber Directorate proposes a national digital wallet for official documents.
- Private companies could verify customer identities through a central state system.
- The digital wallet would store IDs, driver's licenses, and other official documents.
- The initiative aims to combat fraud and reduce bureaucracy.
- The plan is open for public discussion before government approval.
Israel's National Cyber Directorate has unveiled a draft strategy that would allow private companies, including banks, insurance firms, and telecom providers, to verify customer identities through a centralized state identification system. The proposed strategy also includes the creation of a national digital wallet for storing official documents.
Currently, the national identification system is operational only for government websites and services, with 5.5 million citizens registered. Under the cyber directorate's plan, companies in the finance, healthcare, communications, and insurance sectors would gain access to this system. This would enable them to verify new customers without requiring documents like copies of identification cards. The system would be used solely for initial client registration; ongoing access to company accounts would continue to rely on existing methods such as passwords or SMS codes. Crucially, customer accounts within private companies would remain separate, with the state having no access to them.
The digital wallet would accommodate government-issued IDs, driver's licenses, certificates, and other official documents, allowing citizens to present and verify them for services, even in person. The issuance of physical documents is not slated to cease.
The cyber directorate estimates that implementing this strategy will aid in combating fraud and identity theft, as the current practice of storing copies of identification in numerous organizational databases, often with inadequate security, increases the risk of data breaches. Furthermore, the initiative is expected to reduce bureaucracy and the need for in-person visits to service centers.
The strategy was developed in collaboration with the National Digitalization Directorate, the Population and Immigration Authority, the Ministry of Finance, and the Bank of Israel. The project is now open for public comment, after which it will be submitted to the government for approval along with a five-year implementation plan.
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