News
Digital ID solution launches in Canada to support online security

The Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) announced the launch of the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF), a set of digital ID and authentication industry standards that will define how digital ID will roll out across Canada. Its launch marks the shift from the framework’s development into official operation and will begin alpha testing by public and private sector members in Canada.

The alpha testing will inform the launch of DIACC’s PCTF Voila Verified Trustmark Assurance Program, set to launch next year.

“The pandemic has pushed digital adoption five years into the future. Without the proper infrastructure for digital ID and authentication in place, we’ve seen firsthand how Canadians have been left vulnerable and with limited access to essential services” said Eros Spodotto, TELUS, executive vice-president of technology, in a prepared statement.

“The PCTF launch marks an important milestone in Canada’s digital transformation initiatives,” said Dave Nikoljsin, board chair at DIACC, in a prepared statement. “Canadians have had to deal with identity theft and fraud, high anxiety in accessing services that they were in dire need of while facing social distancing measures, and attempting to go about their lives as normally as possible.”

Alpha testing of the PCTF will be carried out by over 20 Canadian public and private sector DIACC member organizations during the next two quarters with the purpose of operationalizing the framework as fast as possible. Organizations that have volunteered to take part in the alpha test seek to gain strategic and operational insights to become demonstrated leaders in digital identity.

Learnings taken from the alpha testing will help DIACC identify what is needed to scale up a digital identity infrastructure across Canada, and help Canada secure international digital interoperability and accreditation by working with international and third party partners such as eIDAS and Kantara Initiative IAF.

The alpha testing will also inform the launch of the DIACC PCTF Voila Verified Trustmark Assurance Program. The program is set to launch in fall 2021, and will issue a PCTF Voila Verified Trustmark to organizations who demonstrate compliance with PCTF components.