As announced earlier this month, Geoff Slagle, previously Director of Identity Management for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), has joined Scytáles AB as President and Chief Business Development Officer to manage the company’s relationships in the emerging digital identity community and drive the organization’s business development. After a decade of assisting with the creation and shaping of policies and standards that make possible the implementation of mDL, Geoff, AAMVA’s mDL front figure, now joins the business execution side in the company that is fully ready with standing up mDL capabilities for issuing authorities and relying partners globally.
In our short interview, Geoff explains why he chose Scytáles and how critical the mDL standardization work is to achieve optimal results and widespread adoption of secure, next-generation mobile identification.
Scroll down for the full interview.
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What made you take the decision to join Scytáles?
I have throughout my life and career found myself in positions of leadership, which is what I had been doing with managing the mDL program and related activities within AAMVA. The opportunity to join an organization like Scytáles was a chance to become part of a team of leaders that are standouts in every area of mobile ID market development and maturation for the emerging evolution in how we deal with digital identity. Scytáles distinguished itself very early in their support of the mDL standardization work that is absolutely critical to achieving optimal results for all people (issuing authorities, relying parties, and individuals/customers).
Many refer to you as a “Founding Father” of the mDL (Geoff is one of the initiators of the ISO 18013-5 program). Explain the original motives and the current incentives of the standardization work.
Mobile DLs are at their heart a credential that is supposed to prove driving privilege in addition to the identity that the privilege is connected to. Through UN conventions and efforts between motor vehicle authorities around the world, there is a recognition of interdependence. What is done with regards to the rigor of vetting, both for identity and capability, affect all not just the jurisdiction with which an individual resides in. The standardization work is the logical extension of that capability and desire to know that someone is who they say they are…and, that they have a valid privilege that is intact and not one that has been revoked or suspended. When all is said and done mDLs are directly connected to highway safety.
As digital driving licence projects are gathering momentum, the mDL is about to change the identity landscape. For this potential to be realized, what is required?
There are a few key ingredients that need to be in the recipe. First and most importantly are good standards. The excellent work that Scytáles together with their US partner GET Group NA have been supporting and contributing to in ISO 18013-5 is critically necessary. Next is an understanding of what the market is calling for today…in short, better security and enhanced privacy. The solutions that Scytáles is providing to their customers and partners deliver on these in a tremendous way…as we continue to grow as a business our aim will be to surpass our customers’ expectations with the innovations we have under development. In our case, the key element is the Team. We have hand-picked top specialists from the market and centre of excellence and created a unique and highly competent mDL Team with our partner. After several years of investments with our partner GET Group, we have a common ready product to run to the market. This is what distinguishes us and gives us the competitive advantage - we have already made the big investments in standardizing our products. Lastly, reverting back to the question, would be helping to chart out what the next evolutionary jump is and how not just technology but related policy and legislation will cause an increasing adoption of a new way to deal with identity – Scytáles will be paving the way with its talented team.
A mobile driving licence (mDL) that is secure, accurate, interoperable, and that protects privacy is coming and will change the identity landscape in the near future. A draft international standard is available — ISO/IEC 18013-5, “Personal Identification – ISO-Compliant Driving Licence – Part 5: Mobile Driving Licence Application” — and a number of states are piloting or implementing mDLs that comply with this standard. AAMVA Guidance for mDLs3 starts with this standard as a baseline capability.
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