France chooses contractors for digital ID scheme management

The French Ministry of the Interior has chosen four firms to develop the management system for its digital identity scheme: Sopra Steria, Atos and a partnership formed by Idemia and Idakto. The contract for providing remote identity verification via facial recognition has yet to be awarded, reports Acteurs Publics.

Sopra Steria won the contract to provide management services for architecture, security and user experience, reports L’Usine Digitale.

Atos will be responsible for the development and maintenance of the Digital Identity Management System (SGIN) and the applications that will allow French people to identify themselves for public services via the FranceConnect portal.

The Idemia and Idakto collaboration will provide the software for reading the information from electronic identity documents which will form the basis of the digital identity. These include the new generation of electronic ID cards, resident permits and passports.

However, the facial recognition technology contract has yet to be awarded. This will be used for sign up where a registrant uses a device to scan their physical credential with NFC and then face biometric authentication is required to link the person applying with the digital ID being scanned.

The Ministry of the Interior is hoping to sidestep the issue by providing a six-digit PIN when the new electronic ID cards are issued over the summer.

In January 2021 Idemia and Sopra Steria won the contract to provide a new biometric border control system for France, also awarded by the Ministry of the Interior.

Article Topics

Atos  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  France  |  government services  |  iDAKTO  |  IDEMIA  |  identity verification  |  Sopra Steria  |  tender