[ NNSquad ] Re: "Trusted Internet Identity" in Switzerland

[Stefano Quintarelli <stefano@quintarelli.it>]

strong identification by means of a smartcard with PIN is live in italy
since a number of years (used for a number of public services)

your income tax return can be filed only online, digitally signed, since
2007.

the problem is that PCs are sold without a smartcard reader, therefore
only companies and accountants and assistance help in the submission.

this [maybe] is one of the reasons why the smartcard has never been
employed as a open strong authentication tool. one more reason is that
the certification process, if you want to use it with an application, is
 complicated, to say the least.

it seems to me that switzerland, by providing an USB key alongside a
smartcard is going towards a more usable direction and the US proposal
goes even further, considering as well username/password, with no
physical device, for low trust requirements.

ciao, s.


Lauren Weinstein wrote:
> 
> ----- Forwarded message from Jan Sinstadt <jan@sinstadt.ch> -----
> 
> Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:08:32 +0200
> From: Jan Sinstadt <jan@sinstadt.ch>
> Subject: "Trusted Internet Identity" in Switzerland
> 
> Lauren,
> 
> Apropos "White House Proposes Vast Federal Internet Identity Scheme"  
> (http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000725.html):
> 
> It's more than a proposal here in Switzerland, where an "internet passport" 
> called SuisseID is at the early rollout stage: http://www.suisseid.ch  
> (website in German/French/Italian only). Right now it's voluntary, of  
> course, with an initial government subsidy to encourage early adopters.  
> Once the scheme is fully up and running, a SuisseID certificate (USB stick  
> or smartcard based) will cost the citizenry CHF 165 (USD 155) a head every  
> three years.
> 
> SuisseID has limited scope at the moment, just authentication at a very few 
> e-government websites and online stores. Envisaged later uses include  
> legally binding electronic signatures, access to intranets and secure  
> internet applications, age checks on certain e-commerce transactions, etc.  
> - essentially similar to the Feds' proposal. But should SuisseID attain  
> critical mass in a few years' time, it's easy to imagine a scenario where  
> "voluntary" becomes de facto compulsory as blogging websites, internet  
> cafés and so on increasingly demand authentication - and a  
> government-trusting, indifferent public lets the powers that be have their 
> way.
> 
> Switzerland must be one of the safest places on Earth, yet the nation is  
> security-obsessed. The Swiss are well-known for obsessing about privacy  
> too, yet the overwhelming majority of folk can be counted on to acquiesce  
> at politicians' mere mention of national security or preventing terrorism.  
> "I'm not a criminal, I have nothing to hide" seems to be the prevalent view 
> of the man in the street. In the country with the highest density of  
> computers on the planet, mainstream media are conspicuously free of debate  
> on technology and privacy issues; statutory data retention by ISPs and the  
> worrying extent of government powers to monitor internet traffic are  
> likewise considered non-news by all except the kookie left wing. Thus have  
> civil liberties been discreetly eroded - and now it's stealthily being  
> taken to the next level.
> 
> Jan  
> 
> 
> ----- End forwarded message -----

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