ISTEC and Signicat have launch a solution to request a digital certificate online across Europe

• A process that, until now, had to be carried out in person, with an average wait of two weeks.
• Thanks to Signicat's technology, ISTEC has become the first entity to offer the possibility of obtaining qualified digital certificates through a video identification solution.

Signicat, 25^thof October 2023- Istec, (Infraestructures i Serveis de Telecomunicacions i Certificació, SA), qualified provider of electronic trust services for individuals and organisations, both public and private, together with Signicat, pan-European leader in digital identity solutions, have developed a solution to request a qualified certificate online, with the same legal guarantees as the face-to-face procedure. The service is now available, Istec being the first entity to offer this service through the use of this technology.

The solution allows Spanish citizens throughout Europe or foreigners with a valid TIE (Foreigners' Identity Card) to apply for their digital certificate with a validity of three years using a personal computer or a mobile device, without having to make an impersonation or wait for long periods of time.

The digital certificate, which serves to identify a person, contains data such as their name, surname, ID number, and email address. A digital accreditation can be used to identify oneself and express will, consent, or authorship in a secure way. Just as we would use our handwritten signature or our physical identity document in face-to-face procedures, the digital certificate is its counterpart in online procedures.

"Istec is the first public company to offer this new form of video identification for Spanish citizens throughout Europe or foreigners with a valid Foreigners' Identity Card, which is a big step that shows that we are at the forefront in the digitisation of the administration and in the issuance of electronic certificates," said Juan Alegre, Managing Director of Istec, public sector company instrumental to the Generalitat Valenciana.

Specifically, Juan Alegre explained that this new digital identity service provided by Istec under its ACCV brand allows "the obtaining of a personal digital certificate online from anywhere and at any time and in a totally secure way with no possibility of fraud thanks to integrated and innovative technologies, such as facial recognition systems using artificial intelligence algorithms".

The digital certificate issued by Istec is used above all to carry out procedures with the public administration, allowing users to identify themselves as an individual or self-employed person, and to carry out procedures such as online tax management with the Tax Agency, requesting employment records, registering or deregistering as self-employed, procedures with the City Council or even to apply for employment, benefits, subsidies or grants.

The requirements for an individual to apply for this digital certificate, which is issued in both software and card formats, is to be over 14 years of age and have a valid ID card.

"We are proud to say that Signicat has helped the first Spanish public entity to offer qualified digital certificates to citizens through a Europe-wide video identification solution," says Jorge Guillamet, Country Manager Spain at Signicat. "Our mission is to create technology for people to trust each other in a digital world, and this sort of project brings us closer to this commitment," he adds.

The video identification process through which identification, or identity verification, takes place is very simple: biometric facial video identification captures the person's facial biometrics and compares the video with the biometric pattern of the photo on the ID document. This biometric comparison system is one of the most secure systems to prevent identity theft or manipulation of the ID document and meets the requirements set out in the European eIDAS regulation for identity verification through digital methods.