Republik Ghana

by Maik Breilmann | Oct 25, 2023

The PKI of the GhanaCard is one of the most modern in the world

The challenge for Ghana

With almost 30 million inhabitants, Ghana is an important city in West Africa. Thanks to political stability and numerous mineral resources, the economic situation has improved significantly in the last two decades, making Ghana one of the best developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

As an important project for the future, the Ghanaian government has launched an electronic identity card, the GhanaCard. The GhanaCard is a document with many applications. It can not only be used as an identity document – like any ID card – but also as a passport replacement within the West African ECOWAS region. In addition, the GhanaCard enables strong two-factor authentication – as a secure password replacement for online services. Digital signing of electronic documents is also possible with this card. With the GhanaCard it is even possible to pay – and citizens have the option of activating this function after issuing the card.

The Ghanaian government has ambitious goals for the GhanaCard. Within 12 months a total of 16 million cards are to be issued to the citizens of the country.

Our solution for Ghana

For the realization of the GhanaCard, the Ghanaian government relies on cryptovision technology. Both the software on the GhanaCard as well as the associated public key infrastructure (PKI) and the token-based access to the PKI were implemented by cryptovison. The PKI of the GhanaCard, which was developed for 16 million certificate holders, is one of the most modern certificate management systems worldwide. It comprises several certification authorities and several certificates on each card.

On 15 September 2017, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo received the first GhanaCard.

CAmelot

SCinterface

ePasslet Suite

SCalibur

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Hessischer Rundfunk

by Maik Breilmann | Oct 25, 2023

Thanks to PKIntegrated the effort for the PKI of HR could be minimized

The challenge for HR

The Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) campus in Frankfurt offers numerous cable-supported and wireless access points to the station’s local network. The same applies, albeit to a lesser extent, to other HR locations. Since such accesses often allow hackers to penetrate, they are usually protected with encryption and passwords. However, managing the numerous keys and passwords in a larger network is a tedious and confusing task that is also a nuisance for users of the access points.

With the 802.1x technology, however, there is a proven solution that enables central and user-friendly management of network access. HR decided to implement it. 802.1x is based on digital certificates and therefore requires a public key infrastructure (PKI).

Our solution for HR

Since Hessischer Rundfunk has been using the identity management solution from Micro Focus (formerly Novell) for decades, the PKI solution PKIntegrated from cryptovision was the obvious choice. This is the only solution on the market specifically designed for the identity management of Micro Focus and integrated into it. Thanks to PKIntegrated, the effort for implementing and operating the necessary PKI could be minimized.

This year the HR will be migrated from PKIntegrated to the cryptovision product CAmelot. The use of the virtual smartcard supported by the smartcard middleware SCinterface is also planned as part of a pilot operation.

SCinterface

CAmelot

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TU Dortmund

by Maik Breilmann | Oct 25, 2023

The TU Dortmund uses our middleware for the UniCard 2.0

The challenge for TU Dortmund

With almost 35,000 students, Dortmund Technical University (TU) is one of the 20 largest universities in Germany. Students at this university use the UniCard 2.0 as their student identity card, a smartcard issued in the corporate design of the University Alliance Ruhr (consisting of Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund and University Duisburg-Essen).

This card is also recognised outside the university, for example when it comes to reduced admission prices. In addition, the UniCard 2.0 provides security for IT use.

With the certificates stored on it, it is possible to sign and encrypt e-mails. Students can also use the card to register at various TU Dortmund services. The UniCard 2.0 also makes cashless payment possible at various locations on campus and outside.

Our solution for TU Dortmund

As UniCard 2.0 the Giro-Go card of the Sparkasse is used. The TU Dortmund uses the smartcard middleware SCinterface from cryptovision for the UniCard 2.0. Students can download it free of charge from a Uni server and install it on their private PC. By an extension it is possible to use digital certificates of the DFN-PKI with it. This extension is the result of a close cooperation between Sparkassenverlag (manufacturer of the Giro-Go cards) and cryptovision (manufacturer of the middleware).

SCinterface

Further information

Information about the UniCard 2.0 and its use with SCinterface can be found here: https://www.itmc.tu-dortmund.de/cms/de/home/infomaterial/itm-update/itm_update_14.pdf

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E.ON

by Maik Breilmann | Oct 25, 2023

cryptovision solution manages 70,000 smart tokens at E.ON

The challenge for E.ON

When a large company switches from passwords to smartcards, even seemingly unimportant things are important. Even the smallest mistake can have unpleasant consequences if it occurs to tens of thousands of users. A smartcard solution must therefore not only be secure, but also and above all function smoothly.

How important the details of a smartcard solution can be is shown by a project cryptovision carried out for the German energy supplier E.ON. The Essen energy giant wanted to replace the passwords used practically everywhere in the company with a more secure authentication. E.ON equipped 70,000 IT users with smart tokens that work like smart cards but have a different form.

The smart tokens that E.ON chose were considered secure. However, security was by no means the only requirement E.ON made. The company paid particular attention to ease of use. They knew that even if only one percent of the 70,000 smartcard users had problems with their cards, this would lead to chaos and a loss of user acceptance. In addition, such an incident would have meant that 700 employees would no longer be able to do their jobs while the helpdesk was flooded with 700 support calls. In addition, verification time was an important issue for E.ON. If a registration process takes only five seconds longer than necessary and each employee logs in twice a day, 70,000 employees waste a combined 700,000 seconds (or 24 working days) a day. That adds up to over 5000 working days per year.

To avoid such problems from the outset, many customers are willing to invest in a high-quality smart card solution, even if there are usually cheaper alternatives. In addition, software adaptations that facilitate the use of a smartcard solution often make sense. In view of the high number of users, they usually pay for themselves quickly.

When E.ON analyzed the use of its smart token system after several years, it became clear that the token middleware (i.e. the software that connects the tokens to the program) had a number of errors that caused unnecessary helpdesk traffic. In addition, it was found that a cheaper token solution with better quality (including shorter verification time) was available on the market. Therefore, E.ON decided to abolish the existing smart card solution and migrate to a new one.

Our solution for E.ON

E.ON chose sc/interface from cryptovision as the new token middleware. sc/interface has proven to be a robust and user-friendly solution for numerous customers in more than a decade and supports over 80 token types and profiles on all common platforms. All tokens used at E.ON are delivered by cryptovision (via T-Systems).

E.ON had already developed several software components for the old token solution which simplified its use in the E.ON environment (this investment was worthwhile due to the large number of users). In order for sc/interface to support these programs, cryptovision had to make some adjustments.

Since E.ON enables its employees to use their own devices (“Bring your own device”), the tokens used must be available on different platforms – especially on Windows, Linux and Mac OS. This requirement was easy to meet as sc/interface runs on all these platforms. cryptovision even provided a solution that automatically installs a certified MiniDriver in a user’s Windows environment.

In addition, E.ON set up a self-service registration process. A person who wants to apply for an E.ON token first receives an empty token and then logs on online. A colleague must then confirm the identity of this person with his or her own token.

Since the certification authority (CA) originally used ceased operations, E.ON had to find a new one. D-Trust, Bundesdruckerei’s CA, proved to be the best choice. Further adjustments were required for various E.ON-specific processes.

Now that the new solution has been running smoothly for years, the migration can be described as sensible and successful with a clear conscience. In addition to the lower costs, the higher user-friendliness (including a shorter verification time) is a particular advantage. In addition, there have been no security problems worth mentioning so far. However, E.ON had assumed this anyway.

SCinterface

Weitere Informationen

Weitere Informationen über das E.ON-Smarttoken-Projekt gibt es in der Ausgabe 1-2017 des Bundesdruckerei-Magazins Dig:ID.

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Elster

by Maik Breilmann | Oct 25, 2023

Digital signatures from cryptovision secure Elster measuring instruments

The challenge for Elster

Elster is a German manufacturer of solutions for the gas, electricity and water treatment industry based in Mainz, Germany. The company’s portfolio, which employs 7,000 people, includes measurement technology in particular. Elster has been part of the Honeywell Group since 2015.

It goes without saying that data security plays an important role in measurement technology. For a consumer, for example, it can be worthwhile to manipulate the amount of gas consumed downwards in order to have to pay less. As digitalization and networking continue to increase in the energy supply sector, the corresponding measuring devices are increasingly becoming an integral part of the Internet of Things. The measured data must therefore be protected with encryption, digital signatures and other IT security measures.

Our solution for Elster

Elster opted for a cryptovision solution for the protection of digital data in two application areas. One of them is the sending of billing-relevant data at transfer points between gas suppliers. These are measurements of volumes and gas qualities at locations that are usually outside populated areas. Digital signatures from cryptovision protect the sent measurement results from manipulation.

The second area of application is the protection of firmware updates for numerous gas and electricity measuring instruments. Digital signatures from cryptovision ensure that only software authorized by Elster is executed on the devices.

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