Verimi merges “People ID” with “SDIinNRW” to form “Deutschland ID (DeID)” under the leadership of Fraunhofer AISEC

• Verimi is consortium leader of the project “People-ID” within the innovation competition “Schaufenster Sichere Digitale Identitäten” (SDI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

• Verimi merges “PeopleID” with Fraunhofer AISEC-led project “SDIinNRW” for application to the implementation phase as “Deutschland ID (DeID)”.

• About 35 partners from research, business and government want to jointly develop a uniform standard for Germany and Europe for secure, digital identities with DeID

Berlin, 04.11.2020. As part of the innovation competition “Schaufenster Sichere Digitale Identitäten” (SDI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the project consortia led by Verimi and Fraunhofer AISEC are merging and applying for the implementation phase of the funding call with the joint concept “Deutschland ID (DeID)”. Verimi previously led the consortium “People-ID” and Fraunhofer AISEC “SDIinNRW”. Under the leadership of Fraunhofer AISEC, about 35 partners from research, industry and public administration are now jointly applying to the BMWi to develop a standard for secure, digital identities in Germany and Europe.

The goal is to lay the foundation for cross-industry collaboration in identity management through the uniform standard. This includes technical, semantic and functional interoperability as well as guidelines for data protection, information security and usability.

Prof. Marian Margraf, head of department at Fraunhofer AISEC and head of the Identity Management research group at Freie Universität Berlin, explains: “The challenge is to establish an eID ecosystem that meets the high security requirements and that can already be easily understood and used by all citizens with their smartphones. To achieve this, it is necessary to take into account the security functions of various currently available mobile devices in the security concept. It is also essential to integrate data protection not only in compliance with the GDPR, but also in a way that is transparent and easy for users to understand. DeID makes it possible to focus on the requirements of users in this regard.”

DeID brings together Germany’s strongest eID providers in the implementation concept. The newly formed ecosystem for digital identities thus integrates locally, distributed and centrally oriented identity solutions for applications relevant to everyday life in numerous sectors across different trust levels. The implementation project demonstrates the added value of digital identities for citizens by means of storefronts in the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse in the application areas of municipal business & services (e.g., administrative services within the framework of the Online Access Act), social & health (e.g., e-prescription), and banking & insurance (e.g., opening a bank account), but is not limited to these application areas. By focusing on a federated eID ecosystem, DeID sets the foundation for integration across all sectors from business and government.

The holistic interoperability approach lowers the overall integration costs for the digital transformation of business and administration for all stakeholders. DeID thus makes a relevant contribution to ensuring the competitiveness of Germany as a business location and to the digital sovereignty of Germany and Europe.

Roland Adrian, Managing Director and Spokesman of the Management Board of Verimi, comments: “Uniform standards are of crucial importance for the comprehensive acceptance of digital identities by all application partners from business and the public sector. With the funding project, we have the unique opportunity to jointly define these standards ourselves. Only in this way can we create a uniform and simple user experience, which is the central basis for the success of a digital identity solution. The widespread acceptance and use of digital identities are the urgently needed catalyst for digitization in Germany.”

The implementation concept for DeID is supported by 14 funded partners and more than 20 associated partners from the fields of research, business and public administration. Under the consortium leadership of Fraunhofer AISEC, Deutschland ID is applying for funding for the 3-year implementation phase as part of the BMWi’s “SDI” innovation competition. The jury’s decision is expected by mid-December 2020.

Germany ID: List of funding partners

1&1 Mail & Media GmbH, Authada GmbH, City of Bochum, Federal City of Bonn, Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with the Institutes for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC and for Software and Systems Engineering ISST, Governikus GmbH & Co. KG, KAAW – Kommunale ADV-Anwendergemeinschaft West, KDN – Dachverband kommunaler IT-Dienstleister, Optica Abrechnungszentrum Dr. Güldener GmbH, Procilon Group – protectr GmbH, Sparkassen-Finanzportal GmbH, Verimi GmbH, YES Payment Services GmbH.