eIDAS-Testbed Goes Live, Validates First Open Source EUDIW

The go.eIDAS Association, in collaboration with several key partners, has successfully launched the eIDAS-Testbed to support the implementation of the European Digital Identity Framework. The launch event took place in Lichtenfels, Germany, and included participation from organizations such as C&S Computer und Software GmbH, the Eclipse Foundation, and the eco Association, among others.

The go.eIDAS Association is a non-profit organization launched by leading European associations, projects, and expert organizations in the field of electronic identity (eID) and trust services. Its main goal is to support the practical implementation of the “European Digital Identity Framework,” which was recently enacted to amend the eIDAS-Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

The European Digital Identity Framework mandates that all EU Member States provide European Digital Identity Wallets (EUDIW) to their citizens by the end of 2026. These wallets are designed to facilitate strong authentication and identification across borders and support the creation of qualified electronic signatures for non-professional purposes. The EUDIW will be used across various sectors including eGovernment, eHealth, eCommerce, eBanking, ePayment, and eTransport.

To ensure interoperability and privacy, the EUDIW will support Verifiable Credentials (VC) as specified by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These credentials can be issued using the OpenID for Verifiable Credential Issuance (OpenID4VCI) protocol and presented using the OpenID for Verifiable Presentations (OpenID4VP) protocol. The eIDAS-Testbed includes an Issuer Service that integrates with the existing eIDAS-Network to issue Personal Identification Data (PID) Credentials.

The eIDAS-Testbed was validated at the OpenID-Wallet-Plugfest during the recent Tech-X Conference & Hackathon #7. The Issuer Service within the testbed is based on the Open Source Notarization Service developed by ecsec GmbH, supported by the eco Association and the Gaia-X Open Source community. This service is hosted on the Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS) maintained by the Open Source Business Alliance.

Interoperability tests conducted during the “plugfest” revealed areas for improvement and demonstrated the compliance of the first Open Source EUDIW from the French company Talao. The eIDAS-Testbed will also be extended to application-specific domains such as electronic health and electronic mobility, supporting the goals of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and the moveID project for the mobility sector.

The go.eIDAS Association is now inviting all interested organizations and individuals to join the initiative to help shape a sovereign, trustworthy, and interoperable European Digital Identity Framework. The aim is to create an open, inclusive, secure, and privacy-friendly eIDAS-Ecosystem, promoting digital sovereignty and innovation across Europe.

Source: go.eIDAS

–

June 12, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy