Germany-based identity verification platform IDnow has advanced the SOTERIA digital identity research project into its implementation phase. The project aims to develop a user-centric tool to assist European citizens in managing their personal data effectively.

The primary objective of the SOTERIA project is to integrate the creation of a digital identity for accessing online services with a user-friendly platform, improving secure and straightforward data management while raising citizens' awareness regarding their personal data. Officials from IDnow and the coordinator of the SOTERIA project highlighted SOTERIA's ability to demonstrate how a digital identity wallet can empower citizens to protect and control their personal data while facilitating easier access to online services. The SOTERIA project, launched in October 2021, is approaching its final pilot implementation and testing phase for the identity wallet solution.

This solution, developed by IDnow and other SOTERIA partners, will be integrated into the platforms of SCYTL, IPCenter, and Biobizkaia Health Research Institute in Romania, Austria, and Spain, respectively. These integrations aim to facilitate e-voting, e-exam, and e-health use cases. In the upcoming month, field tests for the three pilot use cases will commence, involving 900 citizens each from Austria, Romania, and Spain.

Participants will authenticate themselves through the SOTERIA app, leveraging identity verification methods provided by IDnow. These methods include new security checks developed within the project to enhance fraud detection capabilities. Citizens will then undergo the voting or exam process and have the option to store their voting receipts or exam results in their wallets.

Additionally, in the e-health trial, citizens can add their health data to their wallets, selecting the type of data and documents they wish to store. More information about the testing phase The testing phase aims to evaluate the authentication process, access to online services with stored digital identities, and the wallet's capability to store documents and attributes. The feedback from the 2,700 citizens participating in the testing phase will be analyzed and used to further improve the platform.

Moreover, these insights can inform the further development of digital identity wallets in alignment with the upcoming eIDAS2 regulation. IDnow representatives also emphasised that the findings from the citizen use cases in SOTERIA will contribute to strengthening security, privacy, and personal data protection in the digital economy. Additionally, it will play a role in establishing a trustworthy EU digital environment.

IDnow's R&D team leads a consortium of 13 European partners in this endeavour, reflecting the company's commitment to advancing digital identity solutions. .