Canada tests blockchain-based ID system for international travel

The Canadian government is designing a project between its country and the Netherlands to test a new model for airport screening and security that uses biometrics, cryptography and distributed ledger technologies.

The Known Traveler Digital Identity system will allow travelers to digitize and share their travel documents in advance with airlines, security staff, border authorities and others with the goal of improving security and efficiency at each step of the journey.

Canadian officials announced the pilot Thursday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

WEF is one of the collaborating partners along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Google, Amadeus IT Group, IATA, Airports Council International, Accenture and many others.

"Emerging technologies have astounding potential to transform and enhance the global travel security system,” says Navdeep Bains, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and economic development.

“The Known Traveler Digital Identity prototype will help enable governments, businesses and travelers to work together to improve security and the seamless flow of people across international borders."

The system would allow travelers to create a digital identity by scanning their passport and certain biometric data, which may include a picture of their face, their fingerprint, their voice and more, into a mobile app.

Once that identity is verified by a government authority, the traveler can easily share it – such as with airlines during booking or with a security official at an airport – without having to show the original documents.

Each time the data is accepted, known as an attestation, it strengthens the person’s status as a “Known Traveler.”

While users access the data through an app, it is not stored in the app or in any other central database. Instead the data is automatically encrypted and stored on the blockchain - a public ledger that cannot be erased or rewritten - to maintain security.

The launch of the Known Traveler Digital Identity prototype is the next step in the World Economic Forum’s “Shaping the Future of Security in Travel” project that began in 2017.

The concept is similar to IATA’s One Identity initiative that proposes a single token that can be reused by the traveler once his or her digital identity has been biometrically verified and authenticated.