Digital Identity, Privacy and Cybersecurity

Traces blow away in the sand; the digital traces we leave behind on the internet and the devices and systems connected to it can come to light again even after a long time. And not only with the help of cyber forensics.

The BFH Centre Digital Society deals with questions relating to the security of IT systems with a focus on data protection and privacy. With the help of security and reverse engineering, applications and systems are examined to detect vulnerabilities and unnecessary data collectors. With the discovered facts, citizens are to be sensitised to develop an awareness of the dangers of unknowingly exposed data.
In interdisciplinary teams and in cooperation with partners from industry, administration and academia, the BFH Centre develops digital identities and applications (such as e-voting, e-ticketing or road pricing systems) that are not only secure, but also intrinsically contain data and privacy protection from the outset (security and privacy-by-design).

All articles on Digital Identity, Privacy and Cybersecurity

Bridging a gap between technical and non-technical: data ethics as a science communication

,
/
Data ethics is one of the most discussed topics around the world. Digital technologies are increasingly influencing our daily lives, and the…
Future Is Here

How does data become powerful? Definition of ethical data market

,
/
With the Posmo project, researchers at BFH are developing a trustworthy data space for mobility. Our Scientists are developing and automating…

A “data bridge” for business relationships

,
/
Business processes between two and more companies, so-called business-to-business (B2B) relationships, are mostly handled electronically today.…

What solutions exist for the transfer of identity information

,
/
Business processes between two and more companies, so-called Business-To-Business (B2B) relationships, are mostly handled electronically today.…

What contemporary identity management must fulfil

,
/
With increasing data protection requirements, it is becoming more and more important to take the data sovereignty of users into account. Therefore,…

A label for digital responsibility: The Digital Trust Label

,
/
With the ever-increasing importance of digital applications and a growing awareness of digital risks, the issue of digital responsibility is…

How useful is the new Swiss Digital Trust Label?

,
/
The Swiss Digital Initiative Foundation wants to create more cyber security with the new digital label. The aim is to enable users to easily…

Will “Verifiable Credentials” replace X.509 certificates in the future?

,
/
X.509 certificates have been around for over 40 years. They are used for the identification of subjects (web servers, persons, etc.). They are…

6 reasons against a central state identity provider

,
/
The Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) presents three different technical scenarios in its "E-ID target picture" . One of them is…

Connecta 2021 looks to the future

, ,
/
The ongoing pandemic left the organisers of Connecta no other choice this year: The event on digitalisation, which is well-known beyond the borders…

Centralised or decentralised identity?

,
/
In recent years, the term "decentralised identity" has appeared more and more frequently in discussions about electronic identities. This is…

Self-Sovereign-Identity – from vision to today

,
/
A few years have passed since Christopher Allen's vision of Self-Sovereign Identities. What has remained of the original vision of "SSI" and…
Titelbild Covid-Serie Digital Health-2

The digital wallet is coming

,
/
"Who invented it?" is a popular Swiss saying. In the case of the eID, the question must be: Who threw it away? The EU is implementing a new eID…

Public Security Test of the Covid Certificate: BFH assists with security

, ,
/
The first Covid certificates have been issued in the cantons since 7 June 2021. At the end of June, the system is to be introduced throughout…

The role of the E-ID for digital government

,
/
In the strategic visions of the future for the transformation of the administration, digital infrastructures play a central role. A widely used…

The unspoken about the E-ID debacle

,
/
After the resounding rejection at the ballot box, people are already thinking about the next E-ID law without any deeper understanding. It would…

A brief history of E-IDs

,
/
E-ID concepts were neither a matter of course nor did they fall from the sky. They are the result of years of discussion, research, piloting…

Is the E-ID now the “digital passport”? – A clarification

,
/
A heated discussion arose around the question of what an E-ID is. It cannot be answered in one sentence. For there are legal as well as practical…

Handling personal data according to the BGEID – Part 2

,
/
On 7 March 2021, a vote will be held on the BGEID, i.e. the Federal Act on Electronic Identification Services. In Part 1, an overview of data…

Handling personal data according to the BGEID – Part 1

,
/
On 7 March 2021, the BGEID, i.e. the Federal Act on Electronic Identification Services, will be voted on. In this two-part article, an overview…

E-ID connection from the point of view of a company

,
/
If a web application wants to use the E-ID (according to the law), it has to overcome some challenges. This compilation is intended to help clarify…

About privacy at login

,
/
Everyone knows that with a social login, e.g. with Google or Facebook, user data is collected and the profiles formed from this data have a lot…

With the planned E-ID to the Covid 19 vaccination? A thought experiment

,
/
Would the planned state E-ID be applicable for registration for Covid 19 vaccinations? Could the extensive and time-consuming registration in…

“With the E-ID law, Switzerland is taking a pioneering role”

,
/
For Nicolas Bürer, Managing Director of digitalswitzerland, the Swiss e-ID is indispensable. In an interview with Prof. Dr. Reinhard Riedl,…

“How can the state ensure cyber security?”

,
/
Why the state's lack of digital competence can lead to a loss of control and why Min Li Martithinks the Schaffhausen E-ID is good is explained…

Taking back control of our data: Re-decentralizing the Web, for good this time (Part 2)

,
/
A recurring theme in the above centralization races is the lack of choice: a choice of browser and operating system, of entry point to the Web,…

The SwissCovid app – many strengths, some weaknesses

,
/
From 25 June, Swiss citizens will be able to use the SwissCovid app, which complements classic contact tracing in the containment of coronavirus.…

Referendum against the E-ID law

,
/
There is a need for usable and trustworthy electronic identification. It is a pillar of digital democracy and will also be used for the exercise…

The Swiss electronic identity

,
/
Switzerland is a federation of the Confederation, cantons and municipalities. Federated systems correspond to the character of Switzerland. The…

What if the AHV number became an email address?

,
/
Digital identity is particularly important in official communication with authorities. Our guest author and President of the Conference of Cantonal…

Self-Sovereign Identities – Will we control our identity ourselves in the future?

,
/
In the real world we can identify ourselves easily and securely, but in the virtual world we still cannot. For digital identification, there…

Secure identities are needed for the trust of customers

,
/
Isolated, centralised or decentralised - here, two researchers from BFH Technik und Informatik compare the advantages and disadvantages of the…

February issue: About digital identities

/
It has become a matter of course in our daily lives to chat, make phone calls, shop, watch videos and listen to music via smartphone. Use is…

December Issue: Cybersecurity – exemplum docet, exempla obscurant

,
/
We are living in times of disagreement. Silicon Valley has turned rule braking into everybody’s practice. “We have to move fast, we have…

Companies must also protect robots from cyberattacks

,
/
Robots are the interface through which IT systems have a very concrete impact on the real world. Until now, dangers to humans and the environment…

How companies handle electronic business processes securely

,
/
The expansion of the Swissdec information platform places new security requirements on the identification and authentication of participating…

Digitisation in insurance companies – individually or together?

,
/
In the private client business, insurance companies rely on individual solutions that are widely accepted. The situation is more difficult with…

Payroll reporting – many roads lead to Rome

,
/
The collection and processing of salary notifications is one of the core tasks of the compensation offices. As many channels as possible are…

Sedex – the digital postman of the Confederation

,
/
With sedex, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) and the Federal Office of Information Technology (FOITT) offer a secure data exchange for authorities…

Insurance companies rely on M2M communication

,
/
Suva has been using the Swiss wage standard (ELM) for many years to process wage declarations from companies. Now, in addition to the Swiss wage…

The social security data exchange ecosystem

,
/
The eAHV/IV association defines interfaces and standards for data exchange and coordinates the digitisation projects for AHV and IV. The goal…

Swissdec – Pioneer in eGovernment Switzerland

,
/
With the wage reporting procedure (ELM), the Swissdec association has created a Switzerland-wide standard that enables companies to report wage…

Switzerland-wide holistic building directory

,
/
In 2020, Switzerland will have an official directory of building addresses for the first time. Currently, market participants publish, use or…

How wage and accident data is protected

,
/
The Swissdec data exchange platform (distributor) transmits wage and accident information to many Swiss companies. The protection of this data…

How insurance companies and authorities communicate securely

,
/
The Swissdec architecture sketches show how corporate processes communicate with insurers and authorities today. An attempt is made to explain…

Swissdec history or “From the cradle to the grave, nothing but forms, forms!”

,
/
Digitisation in the exchange of information in the public authority environment should above all save time and money. But it is not just about…

May-June issue: How companies and authorities exchange data securely

/
Most businesses today are digitally managed. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are used to control entrepreneurial and operational processes.…

The Education ID as the basis for the digital school

,
/
If digital teaching aids are increasingly used in class, pupils and teachers need an electronic identity in order to be able to use applications…

What are the challenges of managing cyber-attacks in a large company?

,
/
With the ever-increasing risks of cyber-attacks, companies need to make cyber security a priority. Today, it is not a question of "if" a company…

Challenges in digital forensics on smartphones

,
/
Smartphone forensics is a relatively new and rapidly developing area of interest within digital forensics. The market launch of "Simon", the…

eDiscovery – the search for relevant information for investigations

,
/
Every day, the amount of data in organisations grows and so do the opportunities to misuse it. With eDiscovery, data is located, secured and…

Vulnerabilities discovered in Swiss Post’s e-voting system

,
/
The public intrusion test of Swiss Post's e-voting system carried out in recent weeks has aroused a great deal of interest among experts and…

Useful and secure digital identities for all areas of life and their properties

,
/
Digital identities are with us every day. The technical possibilities are very diverse. How can digital identities enable secure identification…

Cybersecurity und IT-Forensik

,
/
The focus "Cyber Security & IT Forensics" deals with selected topics related to the security of the computer infrastructure, such as confidentiality,…