European Citizen Card shown by Bundesdruckerei at CeBIT
14 March, 2007
category: Corporate, Digital ID, Government
German ePassport producer, the Bundesdruckerei, is demonstrating a European Citizen Card at CeBIT this week. The hybrid contactless and contact chip card will show “how citizens can register their new home using the ECC or how they can access their pension account … (and) digital, legally binding and appropriately secured signing of insurance agreements.”
Bundesdruckerei presents first European electronic ID card (ECC)
Berlin-based company proves its unique innovative potential
Bundesdruckerei demonstrates a host of applications at this year’s CeBIT
Berlin, 14 March 2007 – At the CeBIT ITC fair, which is due to kick off tomorrow in Hanover, Bundesdruckerei GmbH will be the first company to present a European electronic ID card (European Citizen Card, ECC) in several formats. The decisive advantage of an electronic ID document is that it can be used for a number of applications in both the public and private sector. This is why the focus at Bundesdruckerei is placed on numerous applications which can be of benefit to citizens. One example of an eGovernment application, for instance, will show how citizens can register their new home using the ECC or how they can access their pension account. Another field of application is eBusiness, such as digital, legally binding and appropriately secured signing of insurance agreements.
For many years now, Bundesdruckerei has been actively involved in the work by the European committees responsible for defining standards for the ECC. At CeBIT, Bundesdruckerei will present for the first time documents that are on par with the latest ECC standards.
The secure use of the ECC requires a matching system environment just like the one offered by Bundesdruckerei and which is already used, for instance, for the German ePassport system. In this case, the company is responsible for the operator model and the entire system infrastructure.
The risk of data or identity fraud is particularly high in the field of online business transactions. This is why these transactions must be particularly well secured. An electronic signature on the ECC is designed to protect the integrity and authenticity of the personal data stored on the chip of the card. This is another area where Bundesdruckerei leads the field, by offering the required infrastructure from a single source using the signature and public-key solutions of its subsidiary D-Trust GmbH.
Bundesdruckerei can implement the ECC in two different formats: either in credit-card format or in the somewhat larger ID2 format of today’s German ID card. The ECC can be produced as a hybrid card, i.e. with a contactless and contact chip; the ID2 format can be produced with a contactless chip. As a manufacturer of German and many other international ePassports, Bundesdruckerei also masters the third customary format for ID documents. However, the security of an electronic ID card is not ensured solely by electronic components but also by new, high-quality security printing combined with new, innovative security features in high-security card technology. Thanks to its outstanding lead in technology expertise, Bundesdruckerei is in a position to implement the specific demands of customers in a highly flexible manner.
Information about Bundesdruckerei
Bundesdruckerei GmbH Berlin is one of the world’s leading companies engaged in developing and supplying systems solutions for secure identification. In addition to passport and ID-card systems, the company supplies ID documents, high-security cards, document checking devices, security software along with trust center services to national and international customers. Bundesdruckerei GmbH also produces banknotes, postage and revenue stamps as well as electronic publications. With its subsidiaries BIS Bundesdruckerei International Services GmbH, D-TRUST GmbH and iNCO Sp. z o.o., Bundesdruckerei employs a staff of more than 1,400 worldwide. The company generated revenue of €312 million in the 2005 financial year.