FAQ

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What exactly does 'Secure Identity' mean?

Secure Identity is a unique genuine identity!

Every relationship or transaction is based on connection between (at least) two uniquely identifiable actors or entities. Unique identity must be given to such an extent as to ensure 'confidence/security' – confidence/security that the information given is authentic, that authorization exists, that promises made will be kept and so on. Unique identity thus applies equally to relationships between people – sellers and customers, public authorities and citizens – to relationships between people and objects – drivers and cars, young people and cigarette machines, researchers and databases – and to relationships between object and object – spare parts and machines, software updates and computers, cars to cars etc.

On a second level 'Secure Identity' means securing an individual’s own personal identity composed of primary, ever-constant personality traits and identity features which are accrued by engagement in relationships – dealing with bank transactions, travelling, shopping etc. 'Secure Identity' is given in a context where the identity owner is granted full control and decision-making power over the full range of his or her own identity features.

Why is 'Secure Identity' relevant?

Identity is used consciously or unconsciously in countless processes in everyday life. This means that identity contains an enormous potential for simplifying and automating the processes of our everyday lives in a huge variety of ways. Increasing digitalization and automation of processes across the frontiers – of our immediate living spaces, companies or even countries – also creates a need for procedures that establish or verify the authenticity of the information – I am genuine, I am/am not authorized to do this, the information / product is genuine. Even though direct comparison of identity features like signatures or photos is still widely used in the real world, forgery and cases of identity theft are on the increase and prompt the need for further security measures like extending identity features with biometric characteristics, while the ever-rising numbers of transactions now executed as digital processes also require procedures for establishing secure, unique identity.

'Secure Identity' is also closely associated with issues of public acceptance of digitalization. People’s rising anxieties about the loss of identity in the sense of loss of their privacy must be met by the development of new processes and infrastructures that guarantee owners of identity sovereign control of, and responsibility for, their own identities.

'Secure Identity' equally applies to objects where the unambiguous identification of machine spare parts as genuine original components or just copies is frequently not just economically important but also a major safety issue.

What vision does the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster Berlin-Brandenburg hold dear?

Partners in the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster subscribe to the idea of further developing 'Identity' in the real and digital world as the fundamental value for secure, trustworthy relationships. Instead of stand-alone, heterogeneous, individually deployable identity management solutions that are not forgery-proof and often vendor-driven, they see flexible user-centric identity procedures that can be used equally in the real and digital world and which offer user-friendly access to services and the operation of objects. Forward-looking ID systems will validate the uniqueness of identity features in the real world – by the use of novel materials and integration of identity data – while also giving owners of identity application-related control over such data. As a benchmark value 'Identity' underscores values like originality, uniqueness, the right to identity, and autonomous responsibility. The Vision is to make identity as simple to use as it is safe to use in order to open up the resulting benefits to people of all ages.

What is meant by 'The process chain of identity'?

The term 'process chain of identity' covers all the steps and components associated with digital identity. These include, for instance, the steps 'capture'; 'individualize' and 'verify'.

How does the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster Berlin-Brandenburg actually work?

The work of the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster is based on projects. Over a period of three years the project goals are implemented by partners as solutions – for technologies, processes and materials. Each individual project is planned by partners from research and enterprise while a steering committee supervises it in terms of the set goals and an advisory board composed of leading figures from industry, government and culture offers the vantage point of independent advice.

Why did the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster choose the Berlin-Brandenburg region above all others?

Over the past few years the Berlin-Brandenburg region has built up a multilayered fund of expertise covering all aspects of the Secure Identity theme. In areas close to federal authorities, public institutions, science and government, the past few years in the metropolitan region have seen the growth of numerous companies and initiatives with a direct bearing on the issues involved in “Secure Identity” so that by now hardly any other region can boast such a pool of scientific expertise and entrepreneurial ability as Berlin-Brandenburg. This is the basis which enables the Cluster to purposefully develop new technologies, processes and materials for the rapid transfer of research findings into marketable products that will consolidate the region’s economic status in a sustainable long-term manner.

When can we expect the first results from the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster?

The Fraunhofer Innovation Cluster has a timeline of three years (2008 to 2011). Full answers to more comprehensive issues such as those connected to questions of infrastructure can only be expected at the expiry of this timeline, while interim results on different levels will be given within the duration.

Who profits from the work of the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster?

The results of the work of the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster will be of benefit to a variety of socially relevant groups:

Companies receive prototype solutions for identity management (..) that can be marketed as products;
Federal government policy-makers have a reliable partner who supports the political decision-taking process with know-how and neutral expertise;
With the Cluster, the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg have a partner who will sustainably consolidate the metropolitan area’s standing as a center of excellence for enterprise and science;
Internet-based service providers and identity owners will have a method for the autonomous management of their own identity (features).

Can you only be a partner of the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster if your enterprise or institution is actually located in the Berlin-Brandenburg region?

The core group of the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster is made up of research establishments and companies from the region. Its declared goal is to use the leverage of such cooperation to strengthen the Berlin-Brandenburg economy. It may be expected, however, that skills and abilities which the region is lacking in will be made good through collaboration with other partners outside of Berlin-Brandenburg. In this sense the Innovation Cluster is open to partners from other areas.

What benefits does the Berlin-Brandenburg region gain from the work of the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster?

The large numbers and sheer diversity of stakeholder partners in the Cluster will enhance reputation of the Berlin-Brandenburg region far and wide as a centre of excellence for security, identity management, and the streamlining of digital transaction processes in industry and public administration. This not only will consolidate the market position of companies already situated in the region but also motivate new actors to strengthen their engagement in this innovative field. In addition, it also highlights yet once more the role played by the Berlin-Brandenburg region as a testing ground for cutting-edge solutions and products.

Are the findings of the Secure Identity Innovation Cluster only applied in Berlin-Brandenburg?

The Berlin-Brandenburg region is the seedbed for developments in the field of 'Secure Identity'. Stakeholder regional partners will be the first to have the opportunity to use the results of the Cluster’s work. However as 'Secure Identity' is not a theme specific to the region but rather one which embodies governmental and infrastructural aspects, the results will have their impact on the national and European level and beyond.

What is the research budget held by the Secure Identity Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Cluster?

The overall budget of the Fraunhofer Secure Identity Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Cluster amounts to some 10 million Euros for period 2008 to 2011. Financing comes in equal parts from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the partner companies and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft supports the Innovation Cluster.

What happens to the Innovation Cluster after the first three years of its initial phase?

The first three years work on 'Secure Identity' is seen as the start-up phase of an on-going collaborative venture in the region with increasing exterior impact. This period will be used to find solutions for issues of fundamental importance and to recruit new partners for the implementation and advanced development of solutions.

What role do individual partners play in the Secure Identity Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Cluster?

The Secure Identity Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Cluster is a close collaborative network between science and research, enterprise and government. All four interest groups fulfill their own major essential functions within the cluster. Science identifies the main lines of approach and the possibilities of technologies needed by the future while research deals with how such themes can be implemented in the form of specific marketable products in ventures that can only function with close collaboration of enterprise and government. Stakeholder enterprises integrate the ready-made solutions in their portfolios and ensure dissemination on the markets.

What are 'Fraunhofer Innovation Clusters'?

Numbering 15 as of fall 2008, Fraunhofer Innovation Clusters are instruments for the targeted promotion of innovation through regionally-based cooperation. Innovation clusters link all the relevant forces in enterprise, science, government and society from a particular region with the aim of securing and creating new jobs through business success. The new infrastructures should generate an impetus that strengthens the hand of the local economy on international competitive markets in a sustainable long-term manner. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft promotes such networking with financial support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

What are the other Fraunhofer Innovation Clusters?

Mechatronic Machine Systems, Chemnitz
Digital Production, Stuttgart
Optical Technologies, Jena Optical Innovations JOIN, Jena
Nano for Production, Dresden
Personal Health, Erlangen/Nuremburg/Fürth Region
Digital Commercial Vehicle Technology, Kaiserslautern
Automotive Quality Saar AQS, Saarbrücken
Polymertechnology, Halle-Leipzig
Virtual Development, Engineering and Training VIDET, Magdeburg
Future Security BW, Freiburg
Technologies for hybrid lightweight construction KITe hyLITE, Karlsruhe
Adaptronic Systems, Darmstadt
Multifunctional Materials and Technologies MultiMAT, Bremen
Turbine Production Technologies, TurPro, Aachen
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul in Energy and Traffic (MRO)