The Digital Governance Standards Institute (DGSI) has announced the approval of its new standard – which seeks to offer a reference set of techniques for generic digital trust, identity, credentials, and wallets – for publication as a new national standard of Canada.
In a media release, DGSI said the standard titled “CAN/DGSI 103-0:2025, Digital Trust and Identity – Part 0: Techniques – Code of Practice” aims to:
- Give practical guidance to implement digital trust and identity programs based on internationally recognized best practices and develop organization-specific digital trust and identity guidelines and policies
- Promote trust and confidence in Canada’s digital ecosystems
- Be technology-agnostic and applicable across the government, health, finance, education, and other sectors
“The CAN/DGSI 103-0 standard provides the practical building blocks organizations need to ensure integrity, trust, and assurance in the digital services they deliver,” said Darryl Kingston, executive director of DGSI, in the media release. “By adopting this standard, organizations can strengthen their governance, reduce risk, and prepare for a more interconnected digital future.”
According to DGSI’s media release, the new standard features:
- atomic and compound processes aiming to establish trustworthy digital identity systems
- definitions and conformance criteria for digital entities, credentials, and relationships
- support for aligning with international frameworks, including the electronic identification, authentication, and trust services (eIDAS); the Financial Action Task Force (FATF); and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
- a structured approach to mutual recognition and interoperability among digital service providers
DGSI said the new standard – available in English and French – applies to all organizations, including private sector organizations, public companies, government entities, and not-for-profit organizations.
DGSI added that the standard is the latest installment in its DGSI 103 series, which seeks to offer organizations implementation techniques and best practices for secure, interoperable, and user-centric identity management systems.
Development
DGSI’s fourth technical committee on digital trust and identity prepared the new standard. A balloting group – composed of five producers, five government/regulator/policymaker representatives, three users, and three general interest representatives – approved it.
According to DGSI, the new standard reflected the input of over 160 thought leaders in identity management and associated topics and considered internationally recognized principles and the public sector profile of the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework, an approach to federated digital identity in Canada.
DGSI said the standard is subject to technical committee review within two years of its publication date. DGSI added that the review’s completion could lead to a new edition, revision, reaffirmation, or withdrawal of the standard.