Following a thorough certification process, the Smart-ID service
operated by SK ID Solutions is recognised as QSCD (Qualified Signature
Creation Device) since the 8th of November, rendering all digital
signatures given via Smart-ID equivalent to handwritten signatures and
due for recognition by all EU member states.
Smart-ID, launched in 2017 and powered by Cybernetica patented SplitKey
technology, has rapidly raised a user base of over a million users for a
secure, tokenless authentication method used widely by banks, e-commerce
enterprises and others. Recognition as a Qualified Electronic Signature
across the EU will allow for further application of Smart-ID across a
range of various services.
"“For SK ID Solutions, this was a long and useful experience. We as a
team are very happy that we can now provide our clients something they
have long expected. Certifying Smart-ID as a product will open otherwise
unreachable possibilities," said Kalev Pihl, CEO of SK ID Solutions.
"This is a solid guarantee to both e-service providers and Smart-ID
users that Smart-ID is worth the trust it has been already given. It is
an extremely important change to all the Smart-ID users – more than the
number of people living in Estonia," Pihl added.
According to Aivo Kalu, the security engineer responsible for SplitKey
at Cybernetica, the long certification process has proved invaluable not
only in terms of the positive result, but by allowing for a better
understanding of the path that lies ahead. "Building secure, sustainable
and reliable cryptographic solutions for ubiquitous systems for
every-day use has been a positive challenge for us, one that will allow
for us to stay ahead of the curve and provide state-of-the art
authentication and digital signature solutions around the world, based
on our experience here," Kalu said.
SplitKey technology powers the Smart-ID service that is used in Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania by over a million users. Main customers are Nordic
banks (e.g Swedbank, SEB etc), telecom operators (e.g Telia) and
e-commerce providers.