At Fintech Talents Festival 2025, Adrian Castillo HID Global Digital Identity pitch was clear: fix the missing identity layer of the internet. He explains why they are committed to fixing online identity and moving beyond passwords, noting that the internet was built just to connect computers, without any real “identity layer”.
Now that banking, commerce, work and social life all sit on top of it, that missing layer makes it harder to trust digital services and easier for attackers anywhere in the world to exploit weak authentication.
Castillo focuses on a simple question: how can a service be sure the person logging in is really who they claim to be? Passwords, he says, are no longer fit for purpose as they’re easy to steal and even easier to phish, especially when criminals can quickly spin up fake login pages that look like genuine sites, increasingly with the help of AI tools.
He ties this to how life now starts online, including key moments like job applications and interviews. HID Global argues that without a strong, reusable digital identity issued early in the journey, it’s hard to guarantee that the person you interact with online is the same person who shows up on day one. Castillo recalls getting involved about ten years ago with the FIDO Alliance, where HID Global and major platforms like Google helped develop open standards for stronger, passwordless authentication such as passkeys.
For HID Global, the big hurdle now is service-provider adoption rather than consumer interest. Organisations that have rolled out passkeys are generally happy, and users appreciate the simplicity and security. But individuals can’t choose passkeys on their own and they can only use them if banks, fintechs and other service providers enable them. HID Global’s message to the industry is clear: if we want a safer, password-free future, it’s up to service owners to switch it on.
With Adrian Castillo HID Global Digital Identity leadership focused on adoption, the message to service providers is urgent: stronger identity won’t happen unless you turn it on.
