The research project "eID Connect" verifies the age using CodeMeter technology

The research project "eID Connect", led by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology under the registration number 2076918ED, adds security and usability to all OpenID based web services. "Identity-as-a-Service" is the main delivery concept which has been selected to manage digital identities. Rather than the traditional identification with username and password, the authentication method is strengthened by the introduction of an additional factor: the new electronic identity card (nPA) or a hardware security token, like the CmDongle.

After a development stage of 16 months, the FZI Research Center for computer science along with the companies CAS Software AG, fun communication GmbH and WIBU-SYSTEMS AG – all located in Karlsruhe – have announced a first prototype. The outcome of the research is a complete infrastructure based on the OpenID standard: tamperproof virtual identities prove for instance useful for verifying the age of website users when it is about restricting on-demand video streaming or other contents download to a certain portion of the population only. The architecture, extensively described at www.eid-connect.de, is offered in the SaaS modality by the provider for mobile computing applications. The prototype is available for testing purposes upon request.

Via an OpenID server, users can create their digital identity themselves, which can then be supplemented with data from the new ID card or a CmDongle. The user receives digital identity credentials, which he can use in combination with the real electronic identity card, the matching CmDongle or the pair of username and password. The infrastructural design was developed in a way that information such as name, age, address, and therefore the transgression of a certain age, can be verified.

Oliver Winzenried, CEO and founder of Wibu-Systems AG, explains: “With "eID Connect” we aimed at creating a solution that significantly expands the application possibilities of electronic identity cards. For the research team it was important to develop a practical solution for age verification, that would feature a high level of security as well. I am convinced that "eID Connect" can define a new paradigm for today’s business models: age is determined, validated and clearly linked to the virtual identity".