23.05.2007 The number of ID-card users has more than doubled in the last year

The number of people using the electronic ID-card functions, such as personal identification and digital signatures, has more than doubled over the course of the last year, having grown by more than 30,000 users. More than 60,000 people currently use the card's electronic functions, and more than 57,000 have issued digital signatures.

More than 600 people already use the Mobiil-ID service launched at the beginning of May.

“A year ago, when we launched the Infosecurity 2009 initiative, there were approximately 25,000 people in Estonia who used the electronic functions on their ID-cards. Today, this number has grown to over 60,000. There are many reasons for this increase. The number of options for using the card electronically has increased: for example, already one quarter of all new companies are established by means of the ID-card and electronic voting proved to be unexpectedly popular in March. On the initiative of the service providers, especially banks, and due to an increase in general security awareness, people increasingly recognise the convenience and safety of the ID-card as an electronic means of communication. Besides, ID-card readers that are now up to three times cheaper than before arrived in Estonia this year under the Infosecurity 2009 initiative," said Andres Käärik, chairman of the supervisory board of the Look@World foundation.

“In addition, the software needed for using the ID-card has further developed during the year, becoming significantly more user friendlier. Any interested person can download the instructions for using the ID-card and Mobiil-ID service in Estonian and Russian,” Käärik added.

“It is likely that the number of ID-card and Mobiil-ID service users will reach 100,000 before the end of the year,” Käärik estimated.

More than 1 million ID cards have been issued in Estonia, therefore almost all adult citizens and all people residing here on a residence permit have it. The ID-card constitutes a safe way of using various electronic services, for example internet banking systems, the e-Kool service (e-School), electronic service points, etc. The ID-card can also be used to deliver a digital signature that is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature.

Infosecurity 2006 was launched on 23 May 2006 by the main financers of the Look@World foundation (Hansapank, SEB Eesti Ühispank, EMT and Elion) and the Republic of Estonia as an initiative for increasing the security of computer usage. The parties have pledged 60 million Estonian kroons over the course of three years to finance the Infosecurity 2009 initiative. The aim of Infosecurity 2009 is to bring 400,000 ID-card and Mobiil-ID users onto the system by 2009.

Last Thursday, 17 May, the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications awarded the Infosecurity 2009 initiative as the “Achievement of the year 2006”. The Mobiil-ID service was awarded “Idea of the year 2006”.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Andres Käärik
Chairman of the Look@World foundation supervisory board
Tel: 650 1700
andres.kaarik@microlink.ee

Andres Aarma
Marketing manager, Certification Centre
Tel: 610 1880
andres.aarma@sk.ee

www.arvutikaitse.ee / www.id.ee

KEY EVENTS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF INFOSECURITY 2009

23 May 2006
Hansapank, SEB Eesti Ühispank, Elion, EMT and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, as the representative of the Republic of Estonia, entered into the Infosecurity 2009 contract with the aim of establishing Estonia as the country with the most secure information society in the world by 2009.

September 2006
Training programs commenced to instruct all employees of Hansapank and SEB Eesti Ühispank in the use of the ID-card.

14 December 2006
The basic ID-card training program became available for the public at the www.id.ee web site (in Estonian and English).

19 December 2006
The Look@World foundation and Omnikey, one of the world’s largest producers of smart card technology, entered into a framework agreement to supply Estonia with ID-card readers that cost some two to three times less than before. The agreement facilitates the supply of up to 600,000 card readers to Estonia during the period of 2007-2009.

6 February 2007
The ID-card installation software received a new, more user friendly interface and became freely available in Estonian, Russian and English at https://installer.id.ee/.

April 2007
Based on cooperation within the Infosecurity 2009 initiative, the first ID-card readers for notebook computers hit the market.

30 April 2007
In cooperation with the Certification Centre, EMT launched a Mobiil-ID service, providing customers with the possibility to identify themselves via a mobile telephone (for example, when logging onto an internet banking system or the Internet-based self service module of EMT) and issue a digital signature. By nature, the Mobiil-ID is an advancement of the ID-card through mobile telephones.

17 May 2007
The Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications awarded Infosecurity 2009 as “Achievement of the year 2006”. The Mobiil-ID service was awarded “Idea of the year 2006”.