Notification of the German eID card completed with highest level of assurance
The “eIDAS-Regulation” provides a uniform framework for cross-border use of electronic identity documents (eID) in Europe. It is intended that EU Member States will notify their electronic identification means to the European Commission such that they become recognized by other Member States and legally binding across Europe. The publication in the Offical Journal of the European Commission on September 26th 2017 marks the successful completion of the notification procedure for the online identification function of the German eID card after an evaluation by technical experts from nearly every EU Member State which confirmed its compliance with the highest possible security level (level of assurance “high”). As of September 29th 2018 the eID function of the German eID card and the electronic residence permit will be recognized for electronic identification at digital administrative services across Europe, while companies in the Single European Market may also accept it on a voluntary basis with immediate effect.
„This positive evaluation confirms the high quality of the eID function.“, emphasizes Dr. Thomas de Maizière, Federal Minister of the Interior. „The identification procedure using the eID function is secure, easy and practical within the digital everyday life of end users and companies. A growing number of smartphones now support eID. Furthermore we significantly facilitated the eID integration into e-business and e-government services in summer 2017. Both are good prerequisites for companies and authorities to offer more applications based on the eID functionality.”
Strong Authentication and privacy-friendly pseudonyms produced by the eID card
In addition to the reliable identification at the highest level of assurance the electronic eID card also offers strong authentication and the secure generation of privacy-friendly pseudonyms as recommended in Article 25 of the General Data Protection Regulation.
The recent eIDAS activation within the multi-award-winning and certified SkIDentity Service (https://skidentity.com) enables the support for identity documents from Belgium, Estonia, Georgia, Luxembourg, Portugal and Serbia.
Campaign within the „European Cyber Security Month“ offers “eID for free!”
„Electronic eID cards are a highly interesting option for online service providers who want to support strong and simultaneously privacy-friendly authentication.“ adds Dr. Detlef Hühnlein, spokesman of the recently started initiative „Strong Authentication – now!“ and CEO of ecsec GmbH.
The campaign „eID for free!“ allows online service providers who register at the SkIDentity-Management-Service during the „European Cyber Security Month“ (October 1st – 31th 2017) with their electronic eID card or via social login to use the SkIDentity Service free of charge for half a year.
„Due to SkIDentity using eID cards at online services has become very easy. We are pleased to further contribute to the fast dissemination of this key technology through the campaign ‘eID for free!’”, adds Dr. Detlef Hühnlein.
About SkIDentity
The SkIDentity Service has been developed since 2012 with the support of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) within the “Trusted Cloud” initiative, the European Commission and the Bavarian Ministry of Finance by an interdisciplinary team, which is coordinated by ecsec GmbH and comprises experts from ENX Association, Fraunhofer institutes for industrial engineering (IAO) and computer graphics (IGD), OpenLimit SignCubes GmbH, Ruhr University of Bochum, University of Passau, Urospace GmbH and Versicherungswirtschaftlicher Datendienst GmbH. In addition the SkIDentity team is supported by major associations and federations such as the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien e.V., BITKOM), the German EuroCloud association (EuroCloud Deutschland_eco e.V.), the ProSTEP iViP association and TeleTrusT – IT Security Association Germany and well known enterprises such as DATEV eG, easy Login GmbH, media transfer AG, noris network AG, SAP AG, SiXFORM GmbH, Giesecke & Devrient GmbH and selected chambers of industry and commerce.
About ecsec GmbH
ecsec is a specialized vendor of innovative solutions in the sector of security in the information and communication technology, security management, smart card technology, identity management, web security and electronic signature technology. Based on experiences from several consulting projects with international reach ecsec GmbH counts to the leading providers in this sector and supports well known customers within the conception and implementation of tailor-made solutions. Due to the observance of current results of science and technology and current and future international standards, an excellent consulting quality and sustainable customer prosperity are guaranteed.
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Contact:
Dr. Detlef Hühnlein SkIDentity c/o ecsec GmbH Sudetenstraße 16 96247 Michelau, Germany Phone: +49 9571-6048014 E-Mail: skidentity@ecsec.de |