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The award of the contract to ELCA Informatique SA, based in Pully VD, is legally binding; no complaints have been received against the award. As announced in our blog on 16 December 2024, the tender documents are now publicly accessible. Previously, they were only accessible to potential providers who had signed a confidentiality agreement.

A new explanatory video is now available!

The e-ID Act was published in the Federal Gazette today. The law is available in German, French and Italian.

A new explanatory video is now available!

On the last day of the 2024 winter session, the Council of States and the National Council adopted the Federal Act on Electronic Identity and Other Electronic Credentials in their final votes.

Course of debate

According to the Federal Act on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfilment of Official Duties (EMBA), federal authorities disclose the source code of software that they develop or have developed to fulfil their tasks, unless this is precluded or restricted by third-party rights or for security reasons. Disclosure of the source code of the trust infrastructure is also provided for by the e-ID Act.The e-ID programme has already disclosed source code as part of the electronic learning licence pilot project (link). This practice will now be continued with Public Beta. Public Beta is the publicly accessible integration environment of the federal government's trust infrastructure and is expected to be launched in Q1 2025. Public Beta uses the same technologies that are planned for the productive operation of the e-ID and the trust infrastructure. To enable individuals and authorities to familiarise themselves with Public Beta in advance, parts of the source code are already being published now. For example, the source code of the electronic wallet is now available for viewing. All other source codes will follow as soon as possible. The entire source code will be continuously developed until the launch of the e-ID and the trust infrastructure and also thereafter.All source code is initially published under an MIT licence. A bug bounty programme will be launched in the course of 2025.Public Beta Repository (in English only)

The e-ID and its trust infrastructure must be secure and useful. These characteristics should be reflected in the design and name. The design is based on the federal CD (uniform, binding set of rules for the federal government's appearance, link) with its brand values of quality, efficiency and transparency. These brand values are complemented by participation, Swissness, trust and future and translated as follows with regard to colour palette, typography and design:

In the context of the e-ID, unlinkability is mentioned again and again. What is meant by this? Unlinkability refers to the impossibility of linking different transactions that are carried out with an e-ID. In other words, it is about the question of whether it is possible to trace what a person does with their e-ID.In the context of unlinkability, it must be clarified which data a person actually presents to the other party (verifier) in a transaction. In this context, a distinction must be made between• plain text, i.e. the information such as name and date of birth that is transmitted when the e-ID is presented,• cryptographic data, such as signatures or hashes, which are transmitted at the same time so that the authenticity and validity of the information can be verified, and the• other peripheral data that arises when establishing communication.As long as information such as name and date of birth is transmitted in plain text, it is possible to link the content. It is conceivable that for names that occur frequently – for example, John Smith – no clear link can be made. Consequently, unlinkability cannot be guaranteed in cases where personal data is disclosed in plain text.

At its meeting on 6 December, the Federal Council defined the principles regarding the technical implementation of the Confederation’s new electronic identity (e-ID), which is to take place in two stages. At the same time, the name of the trust infrastructure was also announced: the federal government’s digital wallet is to be known as SWIYU.Press releaseFurther technical information on the initial implementation (in English only)Technical roadmap for the further development of the trust infrastructure (in English only)Interoperability profile (in English only)Public Beta Repository (in English only)

Adopted without a vote.

According to the Data Protection Act, biometric data – for example your facial image – is among the data that is particularly worthy of protection. In view of this, it is very important to understand how the e-ID Act regulates the handling of this data. It should be noted that the following information is based on the current draft of the law, which has not yet been enacted.

For adoption of the draft 43 votes, against 1, no abstention

Press release, June 28, 2024 in German, French and Italian only

Zurich, June 18, 2024, the spoken word prevails

As part of the Digital Identity unConference Europe (DICE), additional technical information on the clarifications regarding the technical implementation of the electronic identity of the Confederation (e-ID) was published on GitHub.Link on GitHub

On 14 June, the FDJP briefed the Federal Council on the results of the informal consultation on the technical implementation of the new federal electronic identity (e-ID). In the responses received there is a clear demand for a high level of privacy protection and the possibility of using the e-ID abroad. In order to meet both requirements, the e-ID trust infrastructure must support different technologies in parallel, and for this, further clarifications are necessary. The FDJP is expected to submit a concrete proposal to the Federal Council by the end of the year.Press release

Speech in German only

In March 2023, the Federal Chancellery classified this as a DTI key project. For that reason, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) has audited the project to introduce state-recognised electronic proof of identity (e-ID programme) for the first time.Audit report EFK-23256 in German, with summaries in French, Italian and English

The Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden is to issue the provisional driving licence for learner drivers in digital format. The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) and the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), together with the Association of Swiss Road Traffic Offices (asa) and the driver and vehicle licensing office of the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden are launching the digital licence with a view to developing the system of state-recognised, electronic credentials (eID). The new document was presented at a joint press conference in Herisau (AR) on 3 May 2024.Press release, May 3, 2024

Press release, April 24, 2024 in German, French and Italian onlyRK-S befasst sich mit dem Urteil des EGMR (parlament.ch)La CAJ-E se penche sur l’arrêt de la CEDH (parlament.ch)La CAJ-E se penche sur l’arrêt de la CEDH (parlament.ch)

On January 19, 2024, the Commission held hearings on the Federal Act on Electronic Proof of Identity and Other Electronic Proofs.

For adoption of the draft 175 votes, against 14, 1 abstention

The National Council's Legal Affairs Committee has taken up the E-ID-Act and completed its detailed deliberations at its meeting on February 23, 2024. According to the session schedule, the E-ID Act can be discussed by the National Council in the spring session (probably on March 14, 2024).

fedpol is looking for a provider to supply a product for the online verification of the identity of persons applying for the state e-ID envisaged in the draft e-ID Act. The provider should be able to supply a proven software module for the automated verification of a person’s identity and provide support with integrating the module into the overall system. The product must be able to check that it is dealing with a real person (liveness check) and to match their facial image with existing reference images (face image verification), as well as read Swiss ID documents and verify their authenticity. The product will include a software development kit (SDK) for integrating the software into the ‹federal wallet›. A manual verification component is also required in the product, which will be used by staff at the State Identity Service (SID) at fedpol for quality assurance and in cases of automatic verification that are unclear.

Federal Councillor Beat Jans, head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), opened the Digital Wallets Panel together with Digitalswitzerland’s managing director Stefan Metzger on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at the Digitalswitzerland-Village in Davos with a welcome note.

Federal Councillor Beat Jans, head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), will open the Digital Wallets Panel together with Digitalswitzerland’s managing director Stefan Metzger on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at the Digitalswitzerland-Village in Davos.

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German or French version.)

On November 22, 2023, the Federal Council adopted the draft bill and the dispatch on the new Federal Act on Electronic Identity Proof and Other Electronic Evidence (E-ID Act, BGEID) for the attention of Parliament.

The Confederation's new electronic identity (e-ID) will enable users to identify themselves digitally in a secure, fast and uncomplicated way. At its meeting on 22 November 2023, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the new Federal Act on Electronic Identity Credentials and Other Electronic Credentials (E-ID Act). The e-ID will be issued by the Confederation, will guarantee the greatest possible protection of personal data, and its use will be free of charge and voluntary. The Federal Council is proposing that the infrastructure required to operate the e-ID can also be used by cantonal and communal authorities and by private individuals and entities to issue electronic credentials.

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German or French version.)

A sandbox is a protected technical environment in which tests can be carried out. In the Trust Infrastructure Public Sandbox, authorities and private individuals and entities can gain experience with the planned trust infrastructure. Specifically, it is possible to issue and verify electronic credentials within the sandbox. The sandbox is operated by the federal government. It is planned to make the Trust Infrastructure Public Sandbox available for one year. The number of participants is limited to 40; use is free of charge. The sandbox is based on Hyperledger Indy.

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German, French or Italian version.)

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German, French or Italian version.)

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German, French or Italian version.)

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German, French or Italian version.)

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German, French or Italian version.)

(This document doesn’t exist in English. Please see the German, French or Italian version.)