HUNGARY ROLLS OUT ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED E-IDENTITY CARDS IN RECORD TIME

In just a few months, ID&Trust developed Hungary’s new electronic identity card with many innovative features compared to other European solutions. The card was introduced in 2016 and is considered one of the world’s most state-of-the-art eID systems.

The Hungarian government was looking to introduce an eID that meets the requirements of the EU’s eIDAS regulation on electronic identification and trust services. In addition, the new card was expected to include country-specific information, such as local tax and social security numbers, personal identification numbers and emergency contact phone numbers. Plus, the card needed to function as an e-passport for travel and allow users to sign documents electronically with a qualified e-signature.

ID&TRUST SOLUTION

Given the tight deadline, we managed to deliver the entire project at record speed. The chip used in the eID cards was supplied by Dutch manufacturer NXP. Our task was to build systems for the card’s electronic functions, which required the development of the most complex configuration of our proprietary e-identification card solution, IDentity Suite, yet.

As part of the project, we also provided advisory services to assist with the development of card profiles, including data content and rights. The personalization of eID cards, meaning the secure assignment of required personal data, was performed using ID&Trust’s Smart Personalization and Preparation System (SPPS).

Later on, we further improved the eID system to comply with Hungary’s National Unified Card System (NEK). For this, we used our own MIFARE Plus emulation, which allows eIDs to function as MIFARE Plus-based NEK cards. Thanks to the solution’s retroactive personalization capability, NEK functions are also  available in eID cards issued earlier.

In addition, we developed and supplied the software bundle that enables the use of the card solution. The bundle includes the middleware required for e-signature, the eID client and the related eID server solution. In creating the eIDAS-compliant e-signature feature, we introduced several innovations:

  • The new eID is suitable for qualified electronic signatures in line with strict legal requirements.
  • The e-signature function can be used with any card reader, even smartphones.
  • The e-signature function can be added at a later date. No need to issue a new card if the user did not request it at the time of issuance but changed their mind later.
  • Hungarian eID cards use the ECDSA digital signature algorithm, a faster, more efficient and more secure alternative to RSA.

RESULTS

The Ministry of Interior of Hungary has issued more than 5.3 million eIDs so far. There are broader and broader applications for the cards. From October 2020, for example, personal data stored on the cards’ chip can be used to digitally verify customers on online banking platforms.