New NFC solution for identity cards enables fast and convenient benefits for citizens

At this year's CeBIT show, NXP Semiconductors N.V. and AGETO will be presenting an important new NFC technology solution for national ID cards, allowing German citizens to benefit from the advantages of the country's new personal identity cards. Using NXP's SmartMX technology, which is embedded in the cards and the AGETO eID client, citizens can now use their cards wirelessly with NFC-capable mobile devices to prove their own identity and gain quick access to services that government authorities offer. The solution will be presented at the NXP booth (Hall 7, Stand A58) by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.

The demonstration at CeBIT will also highlight how parents can easily and securely register their children at day-care centres using their mobile device. Using an NFC-enabled smartphone, parents can now effortlessly obtain a place at a day-care centre for their child. All a parent has to do is read in the details stored on an ID card using a mobile device, register online with the local authorities, wait for confirmation sent directly to the smartphone and then show this message displayed to the day-care staff. As well as saving time, the process is much safer in terms of preventing identity theft and attempted fraud and, for the communal day-care centres, helps ensure that parents have not registered for more than one place.

"The new NFC-based solution from NXP and Ageto offers various advantages both for citizens and for the authorities", said Ulrich Huewels, senior vice president, business line smart identification solutions, NXP Semiconductors. "One of the biggest benefits is with speed and efficiency. For example, all the steps the authorities need to take in order to confirm a person's identity can now be conducted on a smartphone in just a few moments, and at any time. This confirmation is quick, simple and secure, and more importantly, can happen in real-time – something that is not possible today."

Sascha Sauer, CEO of AGETO added: "It is the first time that a real business scenario based on the German ID card and NFC has been implemented. The smallest eID client that is able to run on mobile phones and can use NXP's SmartMX technology will change the way we use eID on mobile devices." AGETO developed the Android-based client for secure interaction with the German ID card according to German ID law.

NXP Semiconductors is a leading manufacturer of semiconductors for the automotive and mobile-phone market and for security products for bank cards, health-insurance cards and identity documents issued by local authorities. It has been the main supplier of the security microcontroller used in new German identity cards ever since 2010. The company developed a special security chip based on its own SmartMX technology especially for this purpose. The chip was tested under demanding laboratory conditions with respect to a wide range of possible attack scenarios and then optimized accordingly. Today, NXP's security chip is at the heart of the thirty million or so new personal ID cards in use in Germany, forming their intelligent and highly secure electronic core.