TULSA, OK (KJRH) — Phones have the ability to take the place of almost everything in our wallets. You might never leave home without your phone, but your driver's license can easily be forgotten. Governor Stitt says he'd like to see the roll-out of digital driver's licenses in the coming months.
The concept and application are clear - create a backup license on your phone for the physical copy. The program would take the information from your driver's license and put it on a specialized app on your phone.
It's a program that's been tested or rolled out in more than a dozen states. But cyber experts say having all that new data on your phone could be risky, especially if it isn't protected.
"Obviously there is the identity theft risk," said Detective Joshua Showman. Showman does cellphone and computer forensic exams for Tulsa Police's Cyber Crimes Unit. "We have a lot of important information on our phones; we're not used to having our identification on our phones, so any time you have anything that's important or of serious privacy to you, you'd want to make sure it's encrypted."
Showman says a potential developer should include multiple barriers before letting you into the app, and include ways to ensure the app can't be duplicated by anyone trying to make fake IDs.
"It's putting my job on the line if I'm not able to see that this is not real," said Dominique Barnett, a server at R Bar & Grill in Tulsa. "Hopefully if they do that we're able to see that this has not been recreated."
Officials say they're preparing to meet with potential vendors in the near future.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
