CovPass & Co.
Digitization makes paperwork faster - word has even spread to some government offices (e.g., the public health department). Warning apps, digitized vaccination cards: The pandemic is not only creating new approaches in the medical field. And it also demands a lot from us digitally, without problems it does not work, we know that, keywords digital vaccination passport, Luca, Corona warning app. A difficult topic for many reasons, this is not the only reason we are leaving this area out of our little look at digital IDs. There are many IDs that certify our identity, but we will concentrate here on driver's licenses and ID cards.
Driver's license doesn't go digital
How do things look for the digital versions of ID cards and driver's licenses? The short answer is: mixed. First, let's look at the ID card that only affects part of the population, the driver's license. The driver's license in the handy check-card format has been around since 2013, and the previously issued larger and unwieldy "rags," as the old paper driver's licenses like to be called, will have to be swapped into the more forgery-proof newer format this year. In 2022, it stands to reason thaat we should also think about a digital version of the ID card. A t3n article shows how difficult it is to develop an app that meets all the requirements for a secure digital ID: Digital driver's license a complete flop: This is not how agile software development works! <https://t3n.de/news/digitaler-fueherschein-flop-id-wallet-software-entwicklung-1410746/> It looks like drivers will continue to carry their driver's licenses in their "real "** wallets for a while yet, i.e., they will have their driver's licenses in the good old form that they can touch.
Identity card and ID app
The identity card concerns us all. What about digitization? Is the electronic ID card already here? Plastic ID cards have been around since 1987, but since 2010, check-card-sized ID cards have also had chips. This means that every ID card has a chip on which personal data, a picture and two fingerprints of the person are stored. The new ID card format was accompanied by the so-called eID.
Yes, there was something, I remember. When I applied for a new
ID card a few years ago, I was allowed to choose whether I also wanted to use the ID card electronically. Yes, of course I wanted a digital ID card. The reality, however, is sobering. As with the digital signature <https://www.b3blog.de/posts/digitale-signatur-was-ist-das>, there is a lack of
forgery protection, uniqueness, certificates and data protection are the focus of attention. Given this mix of issues, it is almost logical that the ID card app (ID card app 2 is the name of the current version), which is supposed to make the ID card a digital ID card for everyone, has its pitfalls in use. User-friendly is a different story, I think to myself, when I occasionally try to use the digital ID card again. Let's hope that something will happen in the direction of digital IDs that are both secure and usable.
