NEC receives digital ID accreditation in NZ

NEC New Zealand has become the first organisation in the country to receive accreditation under the government’s Digital Identity Services Trust Framework (DISTF).

The DISTF is the legal framework for digital identity services in New Zealand and includes rules and regulations for how digital identity services that are accredited should work, protecting information and privacy.

The recognition confirms that four of NEC’s digital identity (ID) services meet the standards required under the DISTF, supporting trust, privacy, and interoperability in the delivery of digital ID and digital services in New Zealand.

The accredited solutions – delivered via NEC’s cloud-based digital identity platform – support high-assurance identity verification through facial recognition technology and a scalable architecture. They can be used by businesses to onboard customers, issue credentials or to meet anti-money laundering compliance.

The platform enables enrolment, identity and document verification, biometric matching, and the creation of a reusable digital identity credential. Where required, it connects to authoritative sources to verify identity attributes to the level of assurance needed for legislative or regulatory compliance.

“At its core, digital identity is about enabling people to access services quickly, confidently – and ultimately – securely," said Steven Graham, head of identity cloud establishment ANZ at NEC New Zealand.

"Accreditation for four of our digital ID services marks a significant step in NEC NZ’s mission to support a secure, inclusive, and interoperable digital identity ecosystem in New Zealand.”

James Little, acting director of the Digital Trust Framework, said accreditation under the Trust Framework is a rigorous, proactive, and continuous process for organisations to demonstrate to business customers and end users that their services meet robust standards.

“It has never been more important for New Zealanders to be assured that the services handling their identity information online are secure and privacy preserving," he said.

NEC is among the earliest adopters of the DISTF and in 2021, NEC co-designed a Self-Sovereign Identity model with AWS and One New Zealand.