Civil identity is what makes us unique and visible within society. From opening a bank account, to accessing healthcare or voting securely, our civil identity is the most valuable and vulnerable personal asset we own. As our daily lives, critical services, and civic engagement become ever more digital, identity has never been so valuable – nor so vulnerable.
The Identity Paradigm Shift
Today, identity goes far beyond its government origins. Social networks, financial institutions, healthcare providers, and commercial platforms all manage aspects of our identity. As a result, people now expect more control over their digital identity—choosing what data they share, with whom, and when.
At Thales, we see trust as the invisible infrastructure of the digital world. Our unique expertise across identity, cyber, and biometrics – combined with decades of government partnerships – enables us to secure civil identity for all, for life.
Uniquely Comprehensive Expertise
Thales stands out not only for its technological know-how, but also for its broad and deep experience globally. For more than 30 years, we’ve pioneered biometrics and advanced authentication to combat fraud and secure identities worldwide. Our security and cyber expertise, honed through protecting national assets and developing advanced threat intelligence, sets industry standards. From enrolment and verification to issuing documents and operating digital wallets, we manage all aspects of complex identity programs.
Recent milestones such as EUCC Certification from ANSSI and the world-first PQC4eMRTD initiative, offering post-quantum protection for electronic travel un PRdocuments, underscore our commitment to digital security and the future of identity.
Delivering security in an expanding threat landscape
As services shift online, exposure to threats, from cyberattacks to data breaches and privacy risks, has grown. According to the 2025 Thales Data Threat Report, 45% of organisations experienced breaches, with external attackers as the primary threat.
In France, the data protection authority, CNIL, recently reported a 20% increase in personal data violations in 2024 with over one million citizens impacted. This surge highlights both heightened stakes and the essential, enduring role of physical identity documents, which compliment digital credentials for resilience, continuity, and independent verification.
These attacks are affecting all kinds of industry sectors – individuals, organisations, and governments alike. Thales’s full-spectrum capabilities in both digital and physical security make us a trusted partner for governments seeking sovereign, future-proof identity solutions that can withstand both today’s and tomorrow’s threats.
Leading through responsible innovation
With digital identity now both a target and a gateway, proactive cyber resilience is essential. At Thales, innovation is in our DNA. We design solutions and master technologies to secure the future of identity:
- In Biometrics, by turning your identity into secure and irrefutable proof of rights;
- In Artificial Intelligence by automating identity verification, enhancing fraud detection, and offering seamless user experiences;
- In Post-quantum cryptography, by preparing encryption for tomorrow’s threats.
And to foster trust, we implement a privacy-by-design approach by enabling data minimisation and user consent.
Regulation remains a cornerstone, setting standards and protecting both developers and users. Frameworks like eIDAS 2.0, GDPR, and strong partnerships with security agencies such as ANSSI ensure that innovation respects and protect citizens’ rights.
From Strategy to Impact: Thales in Action
Our unique positioning delivers real-world results for governments and citizens:
- In Queensland, Australia, more than one million citizens now benefit from our Mobile Driver’s Licence, combining convenience with robust privacy
- In Mauritius, our legal identity programme simplifies interactions between citizens and the government, supporting financial inclusion and digital access
- As part of the EUDI Wallet Consortium, we’re shaping a future where Europeans can manage and share their identity securely, anywhere in the EU
- Thales technology is already securing one out of three identity documents issued worldwide each year
We partner with governments and businesses to build trusted identity solutions, to protect individual identities and citizens’ rights with the highest level of security, convenience and ethics.
At Thales, we believe identity is not as a privilege, but a fundamental right for all.