IdRamp shows Iowa Senator Joni Ernst new ways to verify digital information

MARK DAVITT / Independent Advocate

Last year, Mike Vesey of IdRamp in Indianola was talking to Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig about using digital identification to verify immunizations among livestock attending the Iowa State Fair. Monday, he made a similar pitch to use digital information to verify COVID-19 immunizations among people to Sen. Joni Ernst during a visit to his business. “The technology that we are pioneering and working on, not alone, is the ability to take anything you have physically and digitize it and carry with you and provide proof as a verification,” explained Vesey after meeting with Ernst.

For instance, instead of handing someone a driver’s license, proving you’re old enough to buy a beer, but also displaying your name, address and other information, the bar or restaurant could digitally ask the customer’s device if the customer is old enough to buy a beer. The device could say “yes” and state that the information has been verified, without the server seeing a date of birth, street address or other personal information.That has tremendous potential in today’s world, said Vesey, when many organizations or entities may soon require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine. “The most important thing about the technology is the connections,” said Vesey. “The most important thing in our lives are the connections that we have. This technology allows you to make connections with one another, with technology, with your car, with your veterinarian. And those connections let you do really, really, neat things, like logging in without a password.” It also could verify that an individual has received the COVID vaccine, without revealing information like when or where the individual got it.

For Ernst, learning about emerging technology like IdRamp, is important. “We’ll be talking about technology coming up in some of our judiciary committee meetings,” she said. “To be able to have knowledge and information about these types of things is really important.” Ernst said she was excited to learn that information can be available digitally without having it stored on Google or with another large tech company. “It also protects people’s privacy,” she said.

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Indianola Independent Advocate – Indianola firm gives U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst glimpse of new ways to verify digital information