From today, an update to the ID-software can be downloaded from the website www.id.ee, in which the current solution for authenticating and signing online with the ID-card was replaced with the Web eID solution.
The Web eID solution enables the use of Estonian digital documents (ID-card, digital ID, e-resident’s digital ID, residence permit card, etc.) for secure authentication and signing on the web. The goal of Web eID is to make using the ID-card in web browsers more reliable and user-friendly and solve numerous problems of the current solution.
The Information System Authority (RIA) started developing the Web eID solution more than a year ago to make authentication and signing on the web more reliable. The previous solution has a technically complex structure, so authentication or signing may not work if the user has updated certain software on their computer.
‘I believe many of us have seen headlines that say ID-card authentication or signing is not possible in either the Firefox web browser or a certain Mac operating system. The goal of Web eID is to make the use of the ID-card more reliable and user-friendly on the web and to solve numerous problems with the current solution,’ explained Tõnis Reimo, architect of the Electronic Identity Department of RIA.
NB! Users must also activate the Web eID extension in their web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari) after installing the new ID-software. Instructions for activating the Web eID extension can be found here: https://www.id.ee/en/article/configuring-browsers-for-using-id-card/
For users, nothing will change except the visual – authentication and signing will work in the same way. ‘The window for entering PINs before signing with an ID-card on the web has been redesigned. We made more changes behind the scenes, but the full new design and more reliable functionality will be available to the user when the e-services have also switched to the new Web eID solution,’ said Reimo. That depends on how fast the e-service providers make their developments.
E-service owners or developers who want to use the new solution must create support for the new Web eID in their service. The technical description and other information necessary for developers can be found here: https://www.id.ee/en/article/web-eid/
More information about Web eID is available on the id.ee website.
Key updates and changes to the ID-software (version 2022.01):
- Web eID components were added
- old components of signing on the web were removed
- ID-software support for Ubuntu 21.10, macOS 12, Windows Server 2022, and Windows 11 will be added
- ending support for macOS 10.14 and Ubuntu 21.04
- ending support for Internet Explorer
- updates to components and bug fixes
Sample images of the Web eID interface:
More information about amendments to the ID-software is available here: (https://www.id.ee/en/article/id-software-versions-info-release-notes/). The latest version of the ID-software can be downloaded from the website https://www.id.ee
