Global digital trust market to double by 2027

The global market for digital trust technology is expected to double to $537bn by 2027, up from $270bn today as demand for cyber security, digital identity and privacy protection capabilities continues to grow in tandem with digitisation and cyber crime.

That is according to a research paper commissioned by SGTech, the trade association of Singapore’s technology sector, which defined digital trust as the “confidence participants have in the digital ecosystem to interact securely, in a transparent, accountable and frictionless manner”.

These interactions include not only digital communications between people, but also data transmissions between internet-of-things (IoT) devices as well as data storage, analyses and use. Underpinning the interactions are cyber security, governance, risk and compliance and digital identity capabilities, among others.

Based on the research, conducted by social innovation consultancy the Eden Strategy Institute, cyber security will account for the lion’s share of the global digital trust market this year, followed by digital trust consulting services and digital identity.

The research singled out digital identity as a key growth driver, with adoption continuing to pick up as more countries embark on digital ID initiatives.

For example, it noted that India has shown “admirable success” in creating the world’s largest biometric digital ID system with the Aadhaar programme, which has enrolled 1.3 billion citizens, or 99% of India’s adult population. China is also expected to roll out a nationwide digital ID system later this year.

Other hotspots for growth include privacy enhancing and distributed ledger technologies, which have not only attracted venture capital interest, but also companies that are looking to apply those technologies in various use cases.

Besides the market potential of digital trust technologies, the research also highlighted the threats to digital trust. These include misinformation, data biases, opaque decision-making in artificial intelligence (AI) and the growing prevalence of cyber crime, all of which have been eroding digital trust globally.

“The promise of the global digital economy hinges on whether there is trust among economies, companies and individuals to transact with one another,” said Wong Wai Meng, chair of SGTech. “Singapore has a unique opportunity to position itself as a global digital and data node built on trust, further strengthening our hub status for global businesses.”

In Singapore, the annual revenue from digital trust stands at $1.2bn, with cyber security accounting for more than half that number. The sector currently employs 15,000 people and could rake in $3.4bn in annual revenue and employ between 34,000 and 45,000 people by 2027.