Estonia suffered an embarrassing blow to its much-vaunted ID cards that underpin everything from electronic voting to online banking, just days before hosting a big EU exercise on cyber warfare. International scientists have informed Estonian officials that they have found a security risk that affects almost 750,000 ID cards and that would enable a hacker to steal a person’s identity. The Baltic country of just 1.3m people stressed there was no evidence of a hack of what it has proclaimed to be the world’s most advanced IT card system. The cards are used to access a wide range of digital services from signing documents to submitting tax returns and checking medical records, as well as by foreigners who are e-residents in the country.
“The Estonian digital society is using cutting-edge innovative technologies. Those new technologies provide good value and services for the public, but may also impose risks,” said Taimar Peterkop, head of the Estonian Information Security Authority.
Ministers say it will take several months to find a fix during which time the cards — issued since October 2014 — will stay in circulation. Electoral officials have yet to decide whether the cards can be used for electronic voting in next month’s local elections.
Full Article: Red faces in Estonia over ID card security flaw.