FAQ: Electronic Authentication

Key facts about authentication

Authentication enables secure access to services, reduces identity fraud, and facilitates efficient digital banking, e-government, and healthcare transactions. Innovative solutions are critical for building trust in digital ecosystems and fostering seamless digital services.

What is electronic authentication?

Electronic authentication involves verifying a user's digital identity to ensure that they are who they claim to be. It confirms an existing digital identity's authenticity and often relies on methods such as passwords, biometrics, or possession-based credentials like mobile devices. It complements electronic identification, which creates a digital representation of a real-world identity.

Why do we need it?

Electronic authentication is essential because:

It ensures legal security and data protection by explicitly linking real and digital identities.
It supports the secure operation of digital services like banking, healthcare, and e-commerce, minimizing fraud and safeguarding sensitive data.
It addresses the inadequacy of traditional face-to-face methods in the growing digital and remote service landscape.

The importance of electronic identification and authentication in ensuring secure digital transactions

What are the challenges of implementing strong authentication solutions?

Key challenges include:

Security Risks: eID systems must be resilient to identity fraud, cyberattacks, and data breaches. Users often choose simple, easily guessed passwords or reuse the same password across multiple sites and platforms, increasing the risk of account compromise. Attackers frequently employ phishing tactics to deceive users into disclosing their login credentials, and these attacks are becoming more sophisticated and challenging to detect.
Interoperability: Ensuring compatibility across platforms, jurisdictions, and regulations can be complex and expensive. While standards like OAuth, SAML, and OpenID Connect are widely used, they are not always universally implemented or compatible. This fragmentation complicates cross-platform authentication and can limit user access.
Scalability and Accessibility: eID systems must serve diverse populations, including those with limited access to technology, and overcome user reluctance due to unfamiliarity or complexity.
User Awareness: Lack of awareness about secure practices makes users vulnerable to phishing and social engineering. Even when aware of risks, some users are reluctant to adopt added security measures like MFA due to perceived inconvenience.
Balancing Usability and Security: Enhanced security measures, like MFA, may lead to user frustration and lower adoption. Finding the right balance is difficult, as adding security often complicates the user experience.

What regulatory issues need to be considered?

Various laws and standards define the quality authentication procedures. One critical aspect is adherence to international and regional standards, such as the European eIDAS regulation, which mandates a “high level of security” for electronic interactions, especially in sensitive applications like financial transactions or legal documentation.

Data privacy and protection are also central to regulatory compliance. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires authentication systems to handle personal data responsibly, emphasizing user consent, data minimization, and secure storage. Furthermore, anti-money laundering (AML) regulations impose strict identity verification requirements as part of Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, particularly for financial institutions.

What are the different methods available today?

Knowledge-Based: Passwords or security questions.
Possession-Based: One-time passwords (OTP) or passkeys stored on devices. Passkeys are two-factor authentications that ask for a second factor, e.g., biometrics or knowledge.
Biometrics: Fingerprints or facial recognition.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Combines two or more of the above, such as an OTP and a password.

How can Swisscom Trust Services support you?

The Multiple Authentication Broker, introduced by the Smart Registration & Signing Service by Swisscom Trust Services, streamlines electronic signature registration processes and improves the overall user experience. The Multiple Authentication Broker acts as a central, trusted intermediary, simplifying the registration, identification, and signing of documents electronically by integrating multiple authentication and identification methods. This approach allows for seamless interaction with Identity Providers (IDPs) and Identity Proofing Solution Providers (IPSPs), enabling a fast, secure, and flexible e-signature process.

Do you have any questions? Contact us!

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FAQ: Electronic Authentication

Key facts about authentication

What is electronic authentication?

Why do we need it?

What are the challenges of implementing strong authentication solutions?

What regulatory issues need to be considered?

What are the different methods available today?

How can Swisscom Trust Services support you?

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