Brunner/Tursky: ID Austria wins gold at the international eGovernment competition
Austria's digital identity as a benchmark in Europe with the highest level of security
The "ID Austria" project of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) won the gold medal on 6 September 2022 in Berlin, at the award ceremony of the 21st eGovernment competition in the category "Best project for the use of innovative technologies and infrastructures 2022”. According to the jury, ID Austria is suitable “as a model for a Europe-wide digital identity”.
Austrian Finance Minister Magnus Brunner stated: "With ID Austria, we are setting a standard in digitalisation not only nationally, but also at European level. Because ID Austria is trendsetting in the development of eGovernment applications. I am convinced that we must continue to drive digitalisation forward in order to make our lives easier and the processes in business and administration more efficient."
"That means we're on the right track. ID Austria enables digital online identification at the highest level of security. With the introduction of the digital driver's license later this year, we will continue this success story," said State Secretary Florian Tursky, pleased with the award.
The e-government competition annually awards the best e-government projects from all administrative levels in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. At the final of the 21st BeringPoint and Cisco eGovernment competition, 19 project teams presented in six categories.
An independent jury of experts from the fields of administrative science, IT, social development and media decided on the awarding of the gold, silver and bronze medals. The award ceremony took place on 6 September 2022 at a ministerial congress in Berlin. Section head and federal CDO Maria Ulmer and Johannes Rund (for the project team) accepted the award for ID Austria as “Best project for the use of innovative technologies and infrastructures 2022”.
The "ID Austria" project
The ID Austria is the further development of the mobile phone signature and citizen card. As the central state digital identity, it enables secure digital online identification, secure digital ID card services and the secure use of digital services and business opportunities. More than 200 applications, mainly in the eGovernment area, use the services of ID Austria. In the future, companies will also benefit from the numerous possible uses of ID Austria. ID Austria is currently in a pilot phase in which the system is being extensively tested to ensure the best quality for the official launch. With its numerous promising applications, ID Austria is also ready for the future European developments of eIDAS (electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services) 2.0 (i.e., the EU Wallet). It is also the first mobile eID at EU level for which the eIDAS security level "high" was accepted without reservation.
"My goal is to offer almost all administrative procedures digitally by 2024. This is made possible by ID Austria, the personal key to all eGovernment applications, such as the ID platform with the digital driver's license. With the digital driver's license, which will be available later this year, administration will become even more tangible for every Austrian," said the State Secretary.
The eGovernment competition
The competition for the modernisation and digitalisation of public administration has been the recognised benchmark for eGovernment and modernisation activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for over 20 years. It promotes innovation for administrative modernisation and supports authorities in user-oriented, efficient digitalisation. Digital innovations, their sustainable implementation and social change place new demands on projects and public organisations.