Digital licensing now allows for convenience via the e-ID app, enabling users to easily share their digital credentials.
In an exciting development for digital identity management, youniqx Identity, the in-house digital subsidiary of the Austrian our website (OeSD), has launched a new feature that allows users to securely share their digital registration certificates within the eID app. This groundbreaking development, which meets current security requirements and widely accepted standards, offers a practical solution for sharing vehicle registrations among family members, and fits seamlessly into the fully digitized road checks in Austria.
The new feature works through a combination of verified digital identity issuance, encryption, and user-controlled sharing mechanisms. During registration on the eID app, users prove their identity by taking a selfie with a liveness check and scanning government-issued photo IDs. The app then issues a unique digital identity stored as a digital certificate on the user's device, which contains verified identity claims about the user.
All personal identity information and certificates remain securely stored only on the user's smartphone, never in the cloud or on centralized servers. This data is protected by strong encryption and hardware security features of the phone, and access to it is bound to the user’s authentication method (e.g., Face ID, Touch ID, or PIN).
When the user wishes to share their personal registration certificate or identity information with a service, they initiate a transaction where only the necessary identity claims are transmitted. The information first goes to an identity provider for verification. If validated, the relevant data is sent to the requesting party. The user has full control over what information is shared and when.
All communication between the user’s phone and the eID provider’s servers is encrypted via public key encryption and TLS-secured sessions, ensuring that identity information cannot be intercepted or accessed during transmission. No identity data is stored by the eID provider beyond the transaction process; the user remains the sole owner of their data and controls its sharing. Users should only share the minimum information required by the relying party and be aware of its privacy policy.
The digital registration certificate can be shared via Bluetooth, so no active internet connection is required. This makes it a convenient solution for various use cases, such as within families, allowing easy and secure sharing among partners, children, or other family members. Users can now present their digital driver's license and a borrowed digital registration certificate.
Helmut Lackner, CEO of youniqx Identity and General Director of the Austrian our website, expressed his enthusiasm about this significant milestone, stating, "This new feature brings us one step closer to our vision of making secure and easy digital identity a reality for the Republic of Austria."
With this new feature, Austrians can now display their digital driver's license and digital registration certificate at the push of a button on their smartphone, further streamlining the process of road checks. This development is expected to contribute to the continued success and new features from youniqx Identity, as they continue to work on implementing secure digital and analog identity for citizens in Austria and customers worldwide.
[1] youniqx Identity. (2021). Secure Digital Identity. Retrieved from https://youniqx.at/en/secure-digital-identity/ [2] youniqx Identity. (2021). eID Me. Retrieved from https://youniqx.at/en/eid-me/
- The new feature by youniqx Identity, which is a part of the Austrian OeSD, integrates finance, technology, and security to enable secure and user-controlled sharing of digital registration certificates, offering a practical solution even in offline settings like Bluetooth sharing for family members.
- Moving forward, youniqx Identity, the digital identity management subsidiary, intends to leverage finance, technology, and security to bring secure digital identity to everyone, continuously working on implementing digital and analog identity solutions for citizens in Austria and globally, contributing significantly to the realm of modern identity management.
