IPification’s Webinar on Digital Identity and Authentication Raises Important Questions

by Jim Small, SVP Business Development – IPification

Оn May 28th, I had the pleasure of hosting IPification’s first-ever live webinar, subject ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Identity and Mobile User Authentication’.

I was joined by a high-quality set of panelists from the IPification ecosystem: Morgan Webb, Strategic Alliances for Microsoft Identity Engineering Product group; Andy Kim, Head of PASS Platform at South Korea Telecom; and Gus Tomlinson, General Manager of Identity Fraud at GBG.

A key theme emphasised by all of the participants with reference to their own businesses was the importance of partnerships in the days to come.

Andy, when talking about the Korean Mobile Authentication Association, said something that really struck me: “Mobile operators are very competitive, but this – identity and authentication – is not a competing area.” It’s great to see that, in his experience at least, Mobile Operators are adopting the position that what matters most is the protection of their subscribers rather than who is delivering the best or most successful service. That approach is especially important now, during a pandemic, when keeping people safe is a priority. Andy described how the PASS Platform does exactly that: protects people by preventing the spread of COVID-19 when they’re in crowded places. A great example of how authentication can be used to look after and protect the citizen.

Gus continued exploring the importance of safety by posing a very important question: how do we make online experiences for all customers simple, safe, and secure? The “all” part is especially important. We can only guess at how many people are now suddenly making online transactions for the first time in their lives, but we are certainly witnessing a transformation in how the world interacts and consumes. When you keep in mind the fact that Q1 2020 global sales on Amazon had increased by 26% (one quarter!) over one year earlier, you start to get the picture. So how do we protect the older members of the global society who are less tech-savvy than the Millennials and Gen Z? Once again – partnerships! GBG prides itself on being able to distinguish between fraudsters (who, make no mistake, are also working together, forming partnerships and – unfortunately – creating new innovative types of fraud!) and actual users, but they also understand that the way to do it is through collaboration.

So what is the easiest way to form truly useful, high-quality partnerships? Morgan believes (and we are all inclined to agree) that the answer lies in platforms. Microsoft is a strong believer in cooperation, which is what AzureAD B2C is based on in the first place: it’s an open platform that places digital identity as the key ‘control plane’, allowing enterprises and users alike to authenticate seamlessly and choose the solution that fits them best. As Morgan said, we are all dealing with mutual customer needs, so collaborating with one another and expanding the platform and our partnerships are the key to providing users and companies with highly secure, seamless authentication solutions.

If you had to miss the webinar, don’t despair – you can listen to the whole thing by registering here!

And I’d once again like to give huge thanks to our guest speakers who gave informative, thought-provoking presentations and focused on what truly matters in the days to come. Let’s face these changes head-on, as collaborators, rather than competitors!