Why physical documents are still powerful in a digital age

Physical documents remain essential – serving as a root of trust for digital IDs, as well as a reliable, universally accessible form of identity. For Governments, the trusted system that physical and digital IDs offer in combination is not just a technical asset – but a strategic enabler of secure, efficient and citizen-centric governance.

The list of benefits with physical documents continues. We can hold, manage and control them without relying on external digital systems, which may have varying levels of availability and reliability at any one time. Regardless of the technology infrastructure they have access to, anyone can issue, receive or use them. They work across contexts and use cases, from booking travel and moving through borders, to handling banking and financial transactions. Multiple documents can also be combined for greater trust and ID verification. 

It's a compelling list of benefits, and for all the impact that digital IDs are having on how identities are used and managed, very often they rely on, not replace, physical documents.

Here are five reasons why physical documents remain essential in a digital world:

Physical documents as a root of trust

Governments and institutions often validate using physical documents before issuing digital versions. Digital ID systems often use NFC-based authentication, reading the secure chip of a physical ID card, for example, before proceeding to use face recognition to verify identity. 

In this way, physical documents are a core part of multi-factor authentication (MFA), providing ‘something you have’ (the document itself) as well as ‘something you are’. Governments across the world rely on Thales eID cards’ advanced security and design expertise to make dual issuance a reality, with Thales Civil Identity Suite making identity convenient and secure for all across combined physical-digital identities. 

Maintaining national sovereignty and security

Although it offers convenience, the rollout of digital identities can be a complex challenge for Governments. The issuance and management of physical IDs can be more easily managed in the meantime, while those wider systems are rolled out. A secure, tamper resistant and resilient identity system is a cornerstone of national sovereignty as well as trust. Thales continues to achieve this through the over 300 national programmes worldwide that use its identity solutions, thanks to a combination of advanced cryptography, secure elements or biometrics. 

Multi-factor authentication in identity

Regulations like eIDAS (Electronic Identification, Authentication, and Trust Services) mandate a High Level of Assurance (LoA) for certain sensitive use cases such as banking or online voting. The ability to combine both physical and digital identity is a highly effective combination to provide significantly higher security levels. 

Alongside MFA, tomorrow’s quantum threats represent a very real challenge to identity systems, due to the likelihood it becomes possible to crack existing encryption algorithms. Thales is already preparing ID systems to withstand these threats with the introduction of Europe’s first quantum-resistant smartcard.

Maintaining universal access in identity issuance

Over one-third of the global population still lacks consistent Internet access, while some are also not ready or willing to adopt digital identity. In this way, physical documents endure to give true inclusivity. Here, Thales has many years of experience through its Document Issuance Solutions, supporting the flexible and secure issuance and management of identity documents, accommodating updates and new applications over time.  

Improving citizen experiences

By leveraging the benefits of both physical and digital IDs in smarter ways, Governments can enhance their service delivery. For instance, digital IDs can be sent immediately following the approval of a citizen’s application, while the physical ID is being produced. One version of the ID, meanwhile, could also serve as a useful backup if the other is stolen or otherwise made unavailable. 

The future of identity lies in coexistence. Leveraging both physical and digital IDs’ strengths in complementary ways is critical to building the identity ecosystem we’ll need in a world of deepfakes, data breaches and digital overload.