On November 3, SK introduced its new electronical identity solution Smart-ID, which works on all the most popular smart devices, is not dependent on a SIM card and is usable all around the world.

At its Annual Conference on November 3, SK introduced a new solution called Smart-ID, which was created to simplify the secure use of e-services and to take Estonian innovation to Europe, and from there – to the rest of the world.

“A year ago, we introduced the concept of Smart-ID – a secure mobile solution that would simplify the use of e-services. Now, we have created a working solution that can be used for identification purposes and for signing documents,” said Urmo Keskel, product manager of SK.

To make the use of Smart-ID more comfortable, SK has created an app that works on both Android and iOS platforms with the most popular smart devices and is suitable for use across the world. “Our goal was to create a modern electronical identity solution which would be suitable for smart devices, but would also be secure. In the past few years, we have created the new Smart-ID solution in cooperation with Cybernetica. This solution meets these requirements and has been created with an international market in mind from the start,” said Kalev Pihl, CEO of SK.

Smart-ID, which was created in cooperation with SK’s partner Cybernetica, is a good example of high-level Estonian innovation and research work. It also meets the European Union’s eIDAS requirements and accounts for the European Central Bank’s requirements for a strong authentication tool. Thus, the solution has the potential for quick adaptation.

According to the Chairman of the Management Board at Cybernetica, Oliver Väärtnõu, Smart-ID also resolves the increasingly more urgent issue of SIM-less smart devices, “Lately, there has been a lot of talk about how the Mobile-ID solution is dependent on the ID-card and people have been asking “What’s next?”. Smart-ID resolves the SIM card issue and allows us to easily offer the Estonian type of digital identity to foreign markets without sacrificing security. The cryptographic solution of Smart-ID is unique in the world – Cybernetica’s security engineers have created a completely new system for generating the key parts that are shared between the server and the device.”

Using Smart-ID is easy: the user downloads the Smart-ID app from the Google Play or App Store. To use Smart-ID, the user can be identified via ID-card or Mobile-ID. Just like with the ID-card and Mobile-ID, PIN1 and PIN2 codes are required to use Smart-ID. The user creates both in the app. In developing Smart-ID, a lot of emphasis has been placed on ease of use.

SK is an accredited certification authority that offers certification and time-stamping services and develops and operates the software required to use these services. SK issues certificates to the national identity documents of the Republic of Estonia (ID-card, Mobile-ID, residence permit card, Digi-ID and e-resident’s Digi-ID). The services of SK allow the citizens of various countries to log in to e-services and give digital signatures.

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