Paving the Way for Europe’s Digital ID Revolution
Plans to introduce a cross-border digital identity scheme across Europe are accelerating. The European Union fired the starting gun on the European Union Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet by ratifying the eIDAS 2.0 regulation in May. In November, it will provide further guidance on deploying the new scheme via a series of implementing acts.
The 27 countries comprising the European Union will be mandated to start issuing wallets a year later, with the scheme fully up and running by 2026. The EU’s goal is to have about 80 percent of European citizens using an EUDI Wallet to manage identity documents, access services, and make secure digital payments by the end of the decade.
Several stakeholders need to come together to deliver this ambitious vision: EU institutions, national governments, wallet issuers, device manufacturers, and digital security companies, among others.
This is why GlobalPlatform is convening the second eID Wallet Seminar in Brussels on October 10th. The seminar will deep-dive into the technologies available to help member states deploy EUDI Wallets swiftly and securely.
Addressing pain points
As the timeline for issuing EUDI Wallets draws closer, EU member states face several challenges, including:
- Balancing security with accessibility: The EU has mandated that a secure element (SE) be used to meet the requirements of a high level of assurance (LoA) as defined by eIDAS. But at the same time, member states must make the wallets accessible to as many citizens as possible and easy to use.
- Managing the transition to EU-wide certification: The upcoming implementing acts will define wallet certification at the national level before EU-wide certification schemes are adopted. How should member states manage this transitional period?
- Provisioning of security assets: How can member states ensure seamless provisioning of secure assets such as code, cryptographic material, and sensitive data – and who owns and manages the SE?
The eID Seminar, sponsored by Thales, marks a unique opportunity to address these challenges. Delegates will outline how the SE already used in most modern smartphones can be optimized for EUDI Wallet schemes. The SE is widely seen as the best solution for achieving the high LoA, while maintaining a balance of reach and convenience.
Developing a new digital ID security framework
New solutions are being introduced to help bring the SE to the EUDI Wallet. These include the Secure Application for Mobile (SAM) framework, which provides a secure platform for ID applets to be deployed with certificate-based content management, and the Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) specification for certifying third-party digital ID applets.
To get stakeholders up to speed on these new solutions, GlobalPlatform will also host a two-day training session for stakeholders on October 8th and 9th prior to the seminar. The first day will enable attendees to develop a foundational understanding of SE, while the second day will explore identity-related technologies for SE, including SAM and CSP.
Bringing the ecosystem together
The agenda for the eID Wallet Seminar will feature representatives from across Europe’s digital ID ecosystem. It includes keynote addresses from the European Commission and Thales, plus presentations from GlobalPlatform, national government agencies such as Germany’s SPRIN-D, payment companies (Visa), and smartphone manufacturers (Samsung).
Slawomir Gorniak, senior cybersecurity expert at the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), will deliver the closing keynote, updating delegates on the EUDI Wallet certification schemes ahead of their formal introduction the following month.
It is shaping up to be a must-attend event for those involved in ushering in a new era of digital services across Europe.
For more information and to register for the eID Wallet Seminar and training sessions, please visit https://globalplatform.org/events/.
