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Identity has become the cornerstone of digital security. For businesses and governments worldwide, knowing exactly who is accessing their services is increasingly crucial. This was the central topic when Jonathan Andreessen, Senior Director of Marketing and Products at Encode Technologies, joined us to discuss the fast-evolving landscape of identification and authentication solutions.

Encode Technologies, Andreessen explained, is a leading privacy-centric identity verification company. The company's remit is clear - to transform the customer journey and enhance security for large enterprises spanning finance, hospitality, retail, and the sharing economy. "We focus across many different verticals... to help those customers leverage a new process to fast track their digital transformation and business using identity," he said.

At its core, what does identity verification mean in today's world? "Identity verification is a subset of the overall identity space... Identity verification is a very fast-growing space that has accelerated due to the Covid pandemic by about five years at least," Andreessen explained.

He described the key challenge in the digital era: building trust between users and organisations without face-to-face contact. Traditionally, a handshake and a familiar face were enough for verification. Digitally, the process is less straightforward. "The whole idea is that we want to be able to verify and build trust between yourself and the business... in a contactless fashion," Andreessen said.

Trust, particularly when it comes to guarding private data and biometrics, is hard-earned. "We don't 100% trust digital technologies. We don't trust that you keep our data safe, that my biometrics are private and that it's going to be secure," he added. Successfully bridging this gap, he argued, could revolutionise how companies use digital technologies, removing friction in onboarding and Know Your Customer (KYC) initiatives. "We can onboard customers faster, roll out new services faster, and remove a lot of the friction and roadblocks that exist between users and companies as they try to onboard remotely using mobile devices, iPads, computers," he said.

The increasing sophistication of threats means businesses and governments must also enhance their focus on privacy and security. When asked about priorities in identification and authentication strategies, Andreessen was clear: "They want to make sure that the user data is private, and from a user perspective that's also very important. So we believe privacy should be built into the technology."

Importantly, this means ensuring that personal data is not misplaced, misused, or left vulnerable. "Privacy really has become paramount. You see that in a lot of government initiatives but across the business and government landscape there really is a focus on several things," he explained, listing performance, seamlessness, and customer friendliness alongside privacy and security.

The aim, said Andreessen, is to ensure processes such as banking, ride-sharing, airline check-in, and hotel registration are frictionless yet secure. "All those processes should be seamless and contactless and they should be customer-friendly," he said.

Security, meanwhile, is no longer just a box-ticking exercise. Andreessen described identity as the "first layer of security for almost every business". The consequences are stark: "If you are the wrong person and you get into someone's cloud account or their application you can access all their data and use it nefariously." To prevent this, companies must check at the outset that users truly are who they claim to be.

A perennial challenge in security is balancing strong protection with high performance. "The age-old problem in security is how do you... ensure really high levels of security but also high levels of performance. And usually, there's a trade-off," Andreessen noted. However, he claims Encode has found a way to eliminate this trade-off, ensuring both robust security and a smooth user experience.

So, what trends are emerging across different industries? The pandemic has brought previously niche interests to centre stage. "This is such an exciting space... it's really top of mind now for a lot of organisations, particularly because of Covid," said Andreessen, alluding to the growing demand for remote, contactless verification. Whether in manufacturing, finance, healthcare, or retail, the common thread is the need to remotely confirm who is on the other end of a digital connection.

Andreessen pointed out that most cyber attacks, at their heart, are about compromising identity. "Most security attempts, for example, are basically leveraging your identity to steal your data or to leverage it in a negative way," he stated. Solving this problem, he believes, can transform every industry. The practical benefits are already visible: "Whether it's a hotel... where you seamlessly check in, whether it's an airport where you log in and you have all your data there and they verify it's you and you can check in."

Asked about Encode's plans over the coming months, especially in Asia Pacific, Andreessen was upbeat. In just six months, the company has "more than doubled the team globally... tripled revenues in the past 12 months," and is expanding rapidly into the Asian market, from Australia to Southeast and North Asia. "We've got some pretty iconic customers already across the region - flagship brands which are exciting - and we're looking to elevate that with new hires over the coming months," he said.

According to Andreessen, the transformative potential of identity verification lies in its versatility. "This technology really has so many opportunities, it can be used across different verticals and when it's deployed correctly is completely transformative for different types of business in a very unique way," he concluded.