Denmark’s digital ID receives proximity check update

Denmark’s MitID digital identity system has received updates designed to boost the security of its app and prevent scammers from gaining access to it.

The update, delivered by the Danish Agency for Digital Government in November, allows the app to perform a proximity check before allowing users to transfer MitID to a new device. Scammers have previously taken advantage of transfers to access accounts by convincing victims to share QR codes or screen recordings, enabling them to replicate the app on their own devices.

The update requires users to transfer the app to a new device exclusively via a QR code, and only when the two devices are physically side by side. The proximity check relies on Bluetooth Low Energy technology, The Local Denmark reports.

“We expect this to prevent the scenarios in which scammers trick victims into sharing their QR codes or screen sharing,” says Adam Lebech, deputy director at the Agency for Digital Government.

According to the agency, 87 percent of the Danish adult population uses MitID at least once a week. The platform is used to access public services and some commercial applications. Danes can also use the digital ID in Norway, Sweden and other Nordic and Baltic nations.

The system became functional in October 2023, replacing Denmark’s previous national digital ID system NemID.  Both ID systems were developed by the Danish payments company Nets while the MitID platform is owned by the financial business association Finans Denmark and the Danish Agency for Digital Government.

In November, IN Groupe took over Nets’ digital ID business from Nexi Group, making the French identity and digital services company responsible for the development and operation of MitID.

The platform reported instabilities in the system on November 29th, the shopping holiday of Black Friday. Users reported that they could not log into public services site Borger.dk or shop online, local media reported.

Article Topics

cybersecurity  |  Denmark  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  MitID  |  mobile app  |  QR code