SPAIN'S EXPERIENCE WITH ELECTRONIC IDENTITY CARDS

UNCLAS MADRID 000108 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB/CIP/MA J. ENNIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECPS SP SUBJECT: SPAIN'S EXPERIENCE WITH ELECTRONIC IDENTITY CARDS (EIDS) REF: STATE 130106 ¶1. (SBU) Electronic identities in Spain are governed by Law 59 of 2003, known as the electronic signatures law. Spain began issuing electronic national identity cards (DNIs) in ¶2006. The DNI is the document that citizens and residents are required to present for access to government facilities and many private buildings and interaction with government officials as well as many commercial transactions (use of a credit or debit card, for example). The electronic ID cards come with a chip containing secure identifying information. ¶2. (SBU) According to contacts in the Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society (SETSI), there are more than 14 million electronic DNIs in circulation. (Note: The population of Spain is about 45 million). These are manufactured by the National Coin and Stamp Factory (FNMT, a subdivision of the RCM or Royal Mint). Within FNMT, a department known as Spanish Certification (CERES) provides an electronic certification accepted by all branches of the GOS. FNMT manufactures the plastic chips and programs the individual data into them. ¶3. (SBU) In addition to the electronic DNIs, FNMT offers other electronic ID cards which are not DNIs but have some of the same attributes and can be used for commercial transactions. It has reportedly issued approximately 2.27 million of such non-DNI electronic ID cards Finally, FNMT also offers cardless electronic IDs which can be downloaded from the Internet directly to an individual's computer hard drive. The technology of the various types of IDs is similar, but the electronic cards offer more security than the cardless downloaded IDs. That said, SETSI is not aware of any security issues or lapses or identity theft involving electronic IDs in the almost four years the DNI program has been in operation. ¶4. (SBU) SETSI's Sub-Directorate for Information Society Services (SDSSI) financed the development of electronic DNIs and oversees the program. It serves as a central point for anything having to do with electronic IDs and is responsible for regulating their use. SDSSI sponsored a campaign in 2007-8 to make electronic DNIs available over the entire national territory and to increase their use by the public. Individuals apply for the electronic DNIs through local National Police stations, which serve as one-stop shops. FNMT sends completed electronic DNIs to the police stations for distribution to applicants. Currently 259 local police stations across the country and an additional 90 mobile rural police stations are able to distribute electronic DNIs, and the government is striving to increase this number. ¶5. (SBU) SETSI, in conjunction with CERES, also authorizes certain private entities to issue electronic IDs. These are mostly Chambers of Commerce and other business groups which issue electronic ID cards for use with Spain's tax administration and in electronic commerce transactions. Some major banks (Santander, Banesto) and companies (Telefonica) are also authorized to issue the cards. Though there are many electronic DNIs in circulation, citizens are not using them much because they don't understand them very well or know how to use them. In general, many Spaniards have not yet gotten used to conducting transactions over the Internet, and electronic commerce has not reached its full potential. ¶6. (SBU) Additional information is available on the CERES website, www.cert.fnmt.es. Click on "welcome" in the upper right-haQcorner for information in English. The government's primary POC for issues related to electronic IDs is Salvador Soriano, Deputy Director General for Information Society Services, Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society (SETSI),Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade (MITYC),tel: 34 91 346-1597, e-mail slsoriano@mityc.es. Soriano expressed a willingness to coordinate meetings and visits for persons interested in learning more about the program's architecture and the manufacture and distribution of EIDS. Embassy POC is ecQmic officer Peter Higgins, tel: 34 91 587-2295, e-mail higginsjp@state.gov. SOLOMONT