Mobile identity is a development of online

authentication Authentication (from ''authentikos'', "real, genuine", from αὐθέντης ''authentes'', "author") is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user. In contrast with identification, the act of indicatin ...

and

digital signature A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. A valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, gives a recipient very high confidence that the message was created b ...

s, where the SIM card of one’s mobile phone works as an identity tool. Mobile identity enables legally binding authentication and transaction signing for

online banking Online banking, also known as internet banking, web banking or home banking, is an electronic payment system that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial ins ...

, payment confirmation, corporate services, and consuming online content. The user's certificates are maintained on the telecom operator's SIM card and in order to use them, the user has to enter a personal, secret PIN code. When using mobile identity, no separate

card reader A card reader is a data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium. The first were punched card readers, which read the paper or cardboard punched cards that were used during the first several decades of the computer industry ...

is needed, as the phone itself already performs both functions. In contrast to other approaches, the mobile phone in conjunction with a

mobile signature A mobile signature is a digital signature generated either on a mobile phone or on a SIM card on a mobile phone. Origins of the term mSign The term first appeared in articles introducing mSign (short for Mobile Electronic Signature Consortium). ...

-enabled SIM card aims to offer the same security and ease of use as for example

smart card A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

s in existing

digital identity A digital identity is information used by computer systems to represent an external agent – a person, organization, application, or device. Digital identities allow access to services provided with computers to be automated and make it possibl ...

management systems. Smart card-based digital identities can only be used in conjunction with a card reader and a PC. In addition, distributing and managing the cards can be logistically difficult, exacerbated by the lack of

interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader defi ...

between services relying on such a digital identity. There are a number of private company stakeholders that have an inherent interest in setting up a mobile signature service infrastructure to offer mobile identity services. These stakeholders are

mobile network operator A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a wireless service provider, wireless carrier, cellular company, or mobile network carrier, is a provider of wireless communications services that owns or controls all the elements necessary to sel ...

s and, to a certain extent, financial institutions or service providers with an existing large customer base, that could leverage the use of mobile signatures across several applications.

By country

Finland

The

Finnish government sv, Finlands statsråd , border = , image = File:Finnish Government logo.png , image_size = 250 , caption = , date = , state = Republic of Finland , polity = , coun ...

has supervised the deployment of a common derivative of the

ETSI The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, not-for-profit, standardization organization in the field of information and communications. ETSI supports the development and testing of global technical standard ...

-based mobile signature service standard, thus allowing the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

mobile operators to offer mobile signature services. The Finnish government

certificate authority In cryptography, a certificate authority or certification authority (CA) is an entity that stores, signs, and issues digital certificates. A digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate. Thi ...

(CA) also issues the certificates that link the

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...

keys on the SIM card to the person’s real world identity.

Islamic Republic of Iran

Through national mobile register program Iranian customs administration and ministry of ict registers database from IMEI of imported legally phones and allows Iranian citizens to only access full Iranian mobile phone operators national roaming network if they have linked their national ID to both Simcards and also non contraband/smuggled IMEI number.

Sweden

In the

Nordic region The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Swe ...

, governments, public sector and financial institutions are increasingly offering online and mobile channels to access their services. In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

the WPK consortium, owned by banks and mobile operators, specifies a mobile signature service infrastructure that is used by banks to authenticate online banking users. Telenor Sverige has provided technology for the company's mobile signature services in Sweden since 2009. Telenor enables its customers a secure login to online services using their mobile phone for authentication and digital signing.

Estonia

The Estonian government issues all citizens with a smart card and digital identity called the Estonian ID card. Additionally, '' Sertifitseerimiskeskus'', the

of Estonia issues special SIM cards to mobile phones which act as national personal identification method. The service is called m-id.

Turkey

In 2007, the mobile operator

Turkcell Turkcell İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş. (''lit. Turkcell Communication Services'') (, ) is the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, based in Istanbul. The company has 39,3 million subscribers as of September 2021. In 2015, the company's number o ...

bought a mobile signature service infrastructure Gemalto and launched Mobillmza, the world's first mobile security solution. They have partnered up with over 200 businesses, including many banks to enable them to use mobile signatures for online user authentication. Other services relying on mobile signatures in Turkey include securing the withdrawal of small loans from an ATM, and processing custom work flow processes by enabling applicants to use mobile signatures.

Austria

The

Austrian government The Government of Austria (german: Bundesregierung der Republik Österreich) is the executive cabinet of the Republic of Austria. It consists of the chancellor, who is the head of government, the vice chancellor and the ministers. Appoin ...

allows private sector companies to propose means for storing the government-controlled digital identity. Since 2006, the Austrian government has explicitly mentioned mobile phones as one of the likely devices to be used for storing and managing a

. Eight Austrian saving banks will launch a pilot allowing online user authentication with mobile signatures.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, Mobile ID project started in 2015, and later declared as one of

Government of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

priorities supported by EU. At the beginning of 2018 Ukrainian cell operators are evaluating proposals and testing platforms from different local and foreign developers. Platform selection will be followed up by comprehensive certification process. Ukrainian IT and

cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or '' -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adv ...

around Mobile ID topic is mostly presented b
Innovation Development HUB LLC
with its ow
Mobile ID platform
This particular solution is the sole, having already passed the certification, and most likely will be implemented in Ukraine. As of September 2019, all of 'big three' cell operators in Ukraine have launched Mobile ID service.

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

- commercial launch in August 2018. Kyivstar - commercial launch in December 2018. Lifecell - commercial launch in August 2019. Vodafone and Lifecell operators implemented Mobile ID solution of Ukrainian origin designed by Innovation Development HUB LLC.

References

{{reflist Identity management Mobile telecommunication services