Finland added an important piece to its country-wide electronic identification project -- that is, e-security. The Nordic country, long considered an Internet and wireless hotbed, will leverage technology from London-based Baltimore Technologies that protects the personal information of millions of its citizens. "With one of the world's highest rates of both Internet and mobile phone penetration, Finland represents a strategic market for Baltimore," stated Bijan Khezri, chief executive of Baltimore Technologies, in a statement.
Five years ago, the European Commission issued a proposal for a directive on a common framework for electronic signatures, called the EU Electronic Signatures Directive. The purpose, of course, was to allow people to make legally binding transactions using digital signatures. The directive came into force in Finland earlier this year.
Supporting the EU Electronic Signatures Directive, Finnish citizens carry an electronic identification (eID) card, which looks very much like a driver's license, containing a 'citizen certificate' of individual information. The eID acts as a key, of sorts, unlocking a network of online services, such as banking, insurance services and educational services. (The card is also an official travel document for Finnish citizens in 19 European countries.)
"At a citizen level, [Finnish] consumers are more prepared than in some other countries to adopt technology on a day to day basis," says Paul Turley, Nordic manager at Baltimore Technologies. "This is one of the key reasons why the Finnish PRC (Finnish Population Register Centre) are planning an aggressive roll out of the new eID card over the next 5 years."
The PRC, which is responsible for developing and maintaining Finland's population information systems, chose Baltimore UniCert to issue and manage digital credentials for the newly released version of the eID. For the citizens of Finland, Baltimore Technologies claims, this means that it will be possible to securely transact with public authorities, businesses and service providers via the Internet. Both the citizen and the third-party can be assured of the identity, accuracy and privacy of the information crossing the wires.
"Baltimore Technologies, in association with Fujitsu Invia, is a key partner in fulfilling the Finnish e-government's strategy to offer online services to all citizens protected by the hightest level of Internet security," Tapio Aaltonen, director of certification services of the PRC, said in a statement.
Quelle: Line56
