INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) plans to launch mobile driver’s licenses within the next 18 months, Indiana’s I-Team has learned.

Wednesday, the Interim Study Committee on Roads and Transportation met to talk about the rollout of mobile driver’s licenses.

A mobile driver’s license is a digital version of a physical license, learner’s permit or identification card. The license lives on a smartphone, typically in a mobile wallet or through an app.

Indiana has been talking about the idea since 2019.

Indiana’s I-Team found at least 21 states already use mobile driver’s licenses, including neighboring Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio.

The Indiana BMV says our state’s version is currently under construction.

“There is no Indiana mobile driver’s license yet, so there’s tech work that needs to be done to actually make it,” said Matt Kestian, General Counsel at the Indiana BMV, told Indiana’s I-Team.

The state is working with alcohol and tobacco retailers, banks, law enforcement, and election offices.

“It’s not a photo of the license; it’s a connection between a phone and a reader, and so we need to have that infrastructure in place,” said Kestian.

Lawmakers asked questions about whether other identification like hunting licenses and car registrations could be added to it.

“Not at this time,” responded Kestian.

Groups including the American Civili Liberties Union have raised concerns about privacy, tracking, and security.

“The ACLU of Indiana has serious concerns about digital driver’s licenses, particularly around privacy, tracking, and the ability for the government to revoke someone’s access to their ID,” ACLU of Indiana advocacy manager Danielle Drake said.

Sen.  Mike Crider, R-Greenfield, said the state has adopted federal standards that other states have used.

“I think anytime you bring something new out, you make sure that you’re addressing things that can’t be hacked,” said Sen. Crider.

Scott Shackelford, a cybersecurity expert and professor at Indiana University Kelley School of Business, said security should be a concern for mobile driver’s licenses.

“That’s going to be a really prime target potentially for attackers,” said Shackelford. “So if that database is compromised or if a phone is, those credentials can be stolen and used for frankly identity theft, for impersonation, and for other purposes.”

Shackelford said the more data we put out there, the harder it is to monitor all of it.

“When we’re relying on you know major tech companies,” said Shackelford. “Let’s just say they don’t have the best track record for accountability with our data as part of that equation.”

The Indiana BMV emphasizes that people will not be tracked, the mobile driver’s licenses will not be mandatory, and people will not have to hand their phones over to anyone.

“That that’s not at all how this works,” said Kestian. “You would not be handing your phone over to someone else. Their phone would be interacting with a device that the officer would have in sort of a like a tap to pay.”

Lawmakers did not vote and they actually don’t need to.

The BMV says all the laws they need to implement mobile driver’s licenses are already in place.

Previous reporting: https://www.wishtv.com/news/indiana-bmv-looks-to-launch-mobile-drivers-licenses/

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