Identification
Suomi.fi e-Identification is a joint identification service for public administration. Customer organisations can use the service to identify end-users in their own digital services. Suomi.fi e-Identification makes it easier, more secure and more cost-effective for customer organisations to implement their own services.
The end-user logs into Suomi.fi e-Identification with a Finnish token that uses strong authentication methods. With a single sign-on the end user can safely access all digital services in public administration that have been connected to Suomi.fi e-Identification.
In addition to the Finnish tokens, it is also possible to log into the service by using the European eIDAS tokens.
Suomi.fi e-Identification verifies the identification data offered by the token by comparing it with the information in the Population Information System. If the end user has been authenticated using a strong authentication method, the information is complemented with information from the Population Information System according to the needs of the e-service. Public administration organisations can join the service and use it free of charge. The costs incurred for the use of the tokens are managed centrally by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
Suomi.fi e-Identification supports online banking codes, the mobile certificate and the certificate card (electronic ID card, organisation card and healthcare smart card). All these tokens are available to the e-service through a single technical interface. Changes in the selection of offered tokens do not require the e-service to make any technical changes or conclude separate agreements.
Do the following
To commission the Identification service, familiarise yourself with the service in greater detail at the Suomi.fi for Service Developers website and start the commissioning process.
Price
Use of the service is free of charge. The customer organisation will be responsible for the costs resulting from the changes made to its e-service and from the implementation of the service. After commissioning, costs and token agreements will be handled centrally by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, which provides the service.
Links to Acts related to the matter
The obligation of organisations to use the e-Identification service is laid down in the Act on Central Government’s Joint e-Service Support Services (571/2016)Link to an external website, Opens in a new tabyja-external-link-opens-in-a-new-tab.
eIDAS identification
eIDAS (Electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market) is an EU regulation on the provision of electronic identification and trust services. According to the legislation, all providers of e-services in the member states must approve another member state’s identification tokens. Thus, a person using another EU country’s eIDAS-approved token must be provided access to identify themselves in Finnish authorities’ e-services.
Thus, under the eIDAS regulation, all public sector actors must ensure that they comply with the requirements contained in the regulation and allow EU citizens to identify themselves with an eIDAS-approved token.
In the Suomi.fi e-Identification, eIDAS identification is shown to the user among other identification methods (bank identifiers, mobile certificate and certificate card).
In order to access a Finnish public administration e-service, the person using another country’s eIDAS token must select the identification method “Foreigners’ identification methods”. Next, they should select their own country so that they can be redirected to identification using their identification token.
eIDAS tokens are identification means provided by other EU countries, and they are used for accessing Finnish public administration e-services that use Suomi.fi e-Identification.
In order for the use of the token to be possible in the eIDAS network, it must be notified to the EU. Steps are taken during the notifying process to ensure that the token meets the data security requirements and that other countries can place their trust in it. All tokens of each eIDAS country will not be notified at once. Instead, tokens will receive eIDAS-approval as countries and token providers request it. In practice, eIDAS identification will become more widely-used as more tokens are notified.
No Finnish tokens have yet been eIDAS notified. Therefore, Finns cannot use other EU countries’ services with a Finnish token yet.