Estonia digital identity wallet app from Cybernetica lifts off

Tallinn-based Cybernetica has submitted the minimum viable product (MVP) for Estonia’s national digital identity wallet to the Estonian Information System Authority (RIA).

Estonia’s digital ID wallet app has been in development since January, according to the announcement, following an analysis of the country’s digital identity system by Cybernetica in the latter part of last year. The company is also in the midst of a three-year consultancy with EU cybersecurity agency ENISA on digital wallets and eIDAS.

The work on Estonia’s digital wallet is being carried out under a four-year, 6 million euro contract.

Key functionalities delivered by the digital wallet MVP include the presentation of proof of ID or a driver’s license, issuance of personal identity data directly to the wallet app without reference to a physical ID card, and selective disclosure of attributes, which allows for example proof of age of majority without sharing additional information.

“The Wallet MVP project is a prime example of successful cooperation between the ICT sector and government, resulting in an innovative solution that integrates Estonian digital public services with the new eIDAS framework,” says Riho Kurg, RIA eID architect.  Kurg praised Cybernetica and its vision for secure and efficient digital ID.

Cybernetica CEO Oliver Väärtnõu says “the Estonian Wallet MVP is the first step towards the next generation eID. It will enable a new electronic authentication framework, with stronger privacy guarantees and the introduction of new document types enabling a much broader range of eID use-cases.”

“eIDAS2.0, and the development of wallets in the EU, gives Estonia another opportunity to demonstrate its leadership in the field of digital identity,” says Cybernetica Head of Digital Identity Technologies Michael Buckland. “Most countries, in- and outside of the EU, know the e-Estonia story in our industry, and many are looking to see what Estonia does next.”

Cybernetica is also a partner with Idemia working on Estonia’s digital government system, and recently formed an agreement with Inverid to integrate NFC ID document scanning into its app capabilities.

EU Digital Identity Wallets (EUDIW) have begun rolling out in member states, with Belgium among the first to launch.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Cybernetica  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  Estonia  |  EU Digital Identity Wallet  |  government services