»The legally compliant verification of electronic identities in reliable cloud-systems«

It is an unavoidable part of exchanging information or conducting transactions on the internet that the identity of the parties involved can be clearly and accurately established. This is a key requirement of Internet Banking. However, the authentication scenarios in use today have significant disadvantages when they are used in connection with cloud-computing.

The largest cloud-providers have access to all of the data which is entrusted to them and are also aware of who has access to what data. In addition, they cannot exclude the possibility of unauthorised access to the data from within the cloud-provider company itself.

Aims and approach

The aim is to come up with a solution which will enable the users of reliable cloud-services to rely on electronic identity. It will be possible for the parties to prove their identities conclusively to the other party using the new form of German National ID Card without the cloud-provider knowing their identities.

A Trusted Third Party will conduct the identity examination rather than the cloud-provider itself. In addition, the system should be able to verify the electronic identity of legal persons and digital objects such as documents and pictures. The envisaged process will ensure that the verification of identity is done in a legally compliant way.