IDChat: Toward a Universal, Multi-Biometric Digital Identity for Next-Generation Secure Communication in ASEAN

IDChat (Internet-Dependent Cryptographic Hybrid Authentication Technology) is a universal digital identity framework designed to eliminate costly and vulnerable SMS-based one-time passwords (OTPs). It fuses civil identity (NIK), multi-biometric modalities (fingerprint and retina), and genomic-derived entropy to reinforce cryptographic key generation under a unified fusion engine. Targeting Indonesia’s 120 million internet users—90% of whom still rely on paid SMS OTPs—IDChat introduces a privacy-preserving Digital Genetic Signature (DGS) generated via SHA-256 hashing and homomorphic encryption (BFV scheme), enhancing resistance to spoofing and brute-force attacks. Experimental validation using OpenCV with FVC2004 and CASIA-Iris datasets achieved 99.1% authentication accuracy, a false acceptance rate (FAR) of 0.008%, and an average latency of 1.9 seconds, demonstrating competitive efficiency against existing biometric systems. A comparative cost analysis indicates potential national savings of Rp 12–50 trillion annually by replacing SMS OTPs with free Wi-Fi–based verification. Unlike centralized frameworks such as Aadhaar or FIDO2, IDChat performs local (offline) verification within closed Wi-Fi environments through cached encrypted templates, ensuring independence from cellular networks. DNA information functions as a static entropy factor enrolled once during registration, avoiding any real-time biological sampling. This study presents the first technically validated multi-biometric and DNA-derived cryptographic fusion model optimized for secure, inclusive, and cost-efficient digital authentication in resource-constrained environments.