In this episode of The Digital Executive, host Brian Thomas sits down with Kaarel Kotkas, founder and CEO of Veriff, a global leader in digital identity verification trusted by brands like Uber and Bumble.

Kaarel shares how a childhood experience on a small island in Estonia sparked his lifelong mission to make the internet safer. What began as a teenager’s curiosity about online IDs evolved into Veriff, a company now protecting millions of users worldwide through AI-driven, video-based verification and behavioral data analysis.

He explains why digital identity verification can be even more secure than face-to-face checks, using thousands of data points for objective, accurate decision-making. Kaarel also discusses how Veriff balances automation and human creativity to outsmart emerging threats like deepfakes and synthetic identities, keeping humans “in the loop” where it matters most.

Looking ahead, Kaarel envisions a borderless identity ecosystem—a “pattern of trust” built from our digital interactions rather than government-issued documents. His goal: a world where everyone, everywhere, has equal access to secure online services based on trust, not geography.

Whether you’re passionate about AI, cybersecurity, or the digital economy, this episode offers a visionary look at how technology can redefine who we are online—and how we prove it.

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