Under the leadership of the Information System Authority (RIA), software has been developed with which ID cards, residence permits and digi-IDs can be patched beginning in November.
Margus Arm, head of the eID field and work group at RIA, said that the application is currently being tested, and test cards have also been distributed to banks so that they can ensure that it is compatible with various e-services. “The new software will allow people to renew their ID cards’ security certificates without leaving home, and if all goes according to plan, the certificate renewal process will begin in November of this year,” he said.
ID card security certificates can be renewed remotely from one’s home or work computer during a two-month window that will last through the end of December. Cardholders must download the latest version of the ID card software and then follow the on-screen instructions.
From January through the end of March next year, ID card security certificates can only be renewed in person at Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) service points. As of April 2018, all unrenewed security certificates for at-risk ID cards will be voided.
According to PPA Identity and Status Bureau chief Margit Ratnik, preparations are already underway to extend PPA offices’ evening and weekend hours beginning in November as well as open additional service points during this period.
Unpatched ID cards’ use to be restricted Those who do not have the SIM card-based Mobile ID and regularly rely on their ID card to log into e-services must be quick about getting their certificates renewed this fall.
“At the beginning of November, when the remote renewal process is launched, we will restrict the use of unpatched ID cards,” Arm warned. “This means that an ID card cannot be used digitally until its certificates have been updated.”
Those who do not use their ID card electronically do not necessarily have to worry about renewing their certificates, as all ID cards will remain valid as photo ID through the expiration date marked on the card. Those whose valid ID cards were issued before October 2014 are also unaffected by the security risk.
VES/ERR News
