science

Mobile identity management

Mobile identity management is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mobile identity management rather than just read about it. In short: Mobile identity is a development of online authentication and digital signatures, where the SIM card of one's mobile phone works as an identity tool. Mobile identity enables legally binding authentication and transaction signing for online banking, payment confirmation, corporate services, and consuming online content.

Key takeaways

Mobile identity management belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mobile identity management to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mobile identity management from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mobile identity is a development of online authentication and digital signatures, where the SIM card of one's mobile phone works as an identity tool. Mobile identity enables legally binding authentication and transaction signing for online banking, payment confirmation, corporate services, and consuming online content. The user's certificates are maintained on the telecom operator's SIM card and in order to use them, the user has to enter a personal, secret PIN code. When using mobile identity, no separate card reader is needed, as the phone itself already performs both functions. In contrast to other approaches, the mobile phone in conjunction with a mobile signature-enabled SIM card aims to offer the same security and ease of use as for example smart cards in existing digital identity management systems. Smart card-based digital identities can only be used in conjunction with a card reader and a PC. In addition, distributing and managing the cards can be logistically difficult, exacerbated by the lack of interoperability between services relying on such a digital identity. There are a number of private company stakeholders that have an inherent interest in setting up a mobile signature service infrastructure to offer mobile identity services. These stakeholders are mobile network operators and, to a certain extent, financial institutions or service providers with an existing large customer base, that could leverage the use of mobile signatures across several applications.

By country

Finland The Finnish government has supervised the deployment of a common derivative of the ETSI-based mobile signature service standard, thus allowing the Finnish mobile operators to offer mobile signature services. The Finnish government certificate authority (CA) also issues the certificates that link the digital keys on the SIM card to the person's real world identity.

Iran Through national mobile register program Iranian customs administration and ministry of ict registers database from IMEI of imported legally phones and allows Iranian citizens to only access full Iranian mobile phone operators national roaming network if they have linked their national ID to both Simcards and also non contraband/smuggled IMEI number.

Sweden In the Nordic region, governments, public sector and financial institutions are increasingly offering online and mobile channels to access their services. In Sweden the WPK consortium, owned by banks and mobile operators, specifies a mobile signature service infrastructure that is used by banks to authenticate online banking users. Telenor Sverige has provided technology for the company's mobile signature services in Sweden since 2009. Telenor enables its customers a secure login to online services using their mobile phone for authentication and digital signing.

Estonia The Estonian government issues all citizens with a smart card and digital identity called the Estonian ID card. Additionally, Sertifitseerimiskeskus, the certificate authority of Estonia issues special SIM cards to mobile phones which act as national personal identification method. The service is called m-id.

Turkey In 2007, the mobile operator Turkcell bought a mobile signature service infrastructure Gemalto and launched Mobillmza, the world's first mobile security solution. They have partnered up with over 200 businesses, including many banks to enable them to use mobile signatures for online user authentication. Other services relying on mobile signatures in Turkey include securing the withdrawal of small loans from an ATM, and processing custom work flow processes by enabling applicants to use mobile signatures.

Austria The Austrian government allows private sector companies to propose means for storing the government-controlled digital identity. Since 2006, the Austrian government has explicitly mentioned mobile phones as one of the likely devices to be used for storing and managing a digital identity. Eight Austrian saving banks will launch a pilot allowing online user authentication with mobile signatures.

Ukraine In Ukraine, Mobile ID project started in 2015, and later declared as one of Government of Ukraine priorities supported by EU. At the beginning of 2018 Ukrainian cell operators are evaluating proposals and testing platforms from different local and foreign developers. Platform selection will be followed up by comprehensive certification process. Ukrainian IT and cryptography around Mobile ID topic is mostly presented by Innovation Development HUB LLC with its own Mobile ID platform. This particular solution is the sole, having already passed the certification, and most likely will be implemented in Ukraine. As of September 2019, all of 'big three' cell operators in Ukraine have launched Mobile ID service. Vodafone - commercial launch in August 2018. Kyivstar - commercial launch in December 2018. Lifecell - commercial launch in August 2019. Vodafone and Lifecell operators implemented Mobile ID solution of Ukrainian origin designed by Innovation Development HUB LLC.

See also Identity management Location-based service Mobile computing Mobile security

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mobile identity management

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mobile identity management claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mobile identity management before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mobile identity management ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mobile identity management

In research: Mobile identity management appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mobile identity management in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mobile identity management is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Identity management, Mobile telecommunication services, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mobile identity management outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Mobile identity management” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Mobile identity management in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mobile identity management means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mobile identity management out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mobile identity management in simple terms?

Why does Mobile identity management matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mobile identity management?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mobile identity management.