France is partnering with French identity and security firm IDEMIA to make it easier for its citizens to prove their identity and complete online transactions using a smartphone, IDEMIA said in a press release on Wednesday (Sept. 8).
Government agency Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés (ANTS) organized the move, which will enable French citizens to place their national electronic identification (eID) card, called CNI or carte nationale d’identité, on the back of their smartphones and have their identity instantly confirmed.
The CNI was unveiled in France last month as part of the country’s national identification program.
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An app reads and authenticates the data embedded in the card’s chip using near-field communication technology after the user provides consent. The digital identification system will have a first level security certificate from ANSSI, a cybersecurity arm of the French government, and adhere to all EU eIDAS regulations, according to the release.
Pierre Lelièvre, IDEMIA’s senior vice president of digital ID, said the new CNI has a “highly-secure chip” and represents a “great example of combining a physical ID document with a digital ID to securely access online services.”
The program operates across the FranceConnect platform, which offers users broad digital access to government services and has more than 28 million users and 900 service providers participating. French citizens will soon be able to access the platform using their new digital identification.
“Our mission is to create and offer a user-friendly means of electronic identification that facilitates and protects the online transfer of citizen identity data, so that transactions cannot be centralized or traced,” said Valérie Peneau, the general government inspector and director of the France Identité Numérique program.
IDEMIA is striving to improve the digital ID program using its technological expertise. The company had a hand in the implementation of more than 135 online and offline identification programs worldwide, per the release.
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Launched in 2007 and headquartered in Courbevoie, France, IDEMIA is among the global leaders in augmented identity in the physical and digital space. The company offers augmented identity services for clients around in 180 countries in finance, telecom, public security, internet of things and identity industries.
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