Tomáš Hebelka, MSc, became the CEO of the state-owned enterprise following a selection procedure in He has extensive experience in strategic and process management in the field of reprographic services, IT, and ICT in both the private and public sectors. He has also served as the President of the Czech Institute of Information Security Managers.
The process of transitioning from physical documents to electronic ID cards is the way to remain competitive in the digital economy. What role does the State Printing Works of Securities play in this process?
Until recently, few people would have associated the term “printing works of securities” with digitisation and digital services, or e-government. And yet, within the strategic direction of the State Printing Works of Securities (SPWS), digitisation is becoming increasingly important.
For the SPWS, digital services are, for now, a complement to the printing of securities. Their aim is not to replace existing products but to expand them. To create digital products that can benefit from years of combined experience in cutting-edge price printing, professional security during production, and expertise in secure digital services.
At present, the SPWS provides a comprehensive process in the production of documents, from graphic design, preparation for printing, on-site printing and personalisation, to delivery of the product to its destination. In the area of personal documents, the SPWS also provides the implementation of related IT systems for electronic data collection, obtaining applications, their central processing, personalisation and subsequent issuance of documents at the relevant offices.
Can you give us an overview of the electronic ID card and the current state of its development?
The new biometric ID cards are based on the REGULATION (EU) OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on strengthening the security of the Union citizens’ identity cards and residence permits issued to Union citizens and their family members exercising their right to free movement. The new ID cards contain a contactless chip which stores the holder’s biometric data, i.e. facial image and fingerprints, in a similar way to passports. As of August 2021, either a passport or the new biometric ID card can be used to cross borders within the EU. At the same time, it will not be possible to use the biometric data stored in the ID card for purposes other than to verify the authenticity of the ID card and the identity of the ID card holder when crossing national borders.
The world is changing, whether we want it to or not. For us, I see a new opportunity in digital products. The younger generation does not want to carry several identification cards in their wallet in addition to banknotes. They just want to carry a mobile phone. What about offering them, for example, an identification document on their mobile phone that is a copy of a physical ID card? You could use the document in your mobile phone to prove yourself, for example, at a road check, but also in other everyday situations, such as at the post office when picking up a parcel, etc. We are in the phase of digitising documents, i.e. creating a digital copy of the document that is stored outside the physical document. However, it should always be maintained that the digital document is issued (albeit indirectly) by the same authority as the physical document. As digitisation follows the computerisation of documents, the data processing infrastructure for this phase is already largely in place.
Trends in physical and digital documents are constantly evolving towards the integration of digital copies of personal documents. How prepared are you for this?
We have developed a prototype of the eDokladovka mobile app, including a demo version. We realise that it is not enough to come up with an idea — we also need to design a working solution. And we have done that. Essentially, eDokladovka is a test mobile application (digital identity wallet) that allows you to store individual digital documents (ID card, driving licence, travel document, etc.) containing any data, depending on the request of the subject administrator. The use of eDokladovka is expected to stay at national level for the time being.
How does eDocladovka itself work?
It is very simple and user-friendly. The document holder installs the appropriate app on their mobile phone in the App Store/Google Play and sets up the security of the app using the phone’s biometrics. They will get the qualified attribute confirmations after submitting the application to the concerned authority or online portal. Technically, the solution can be provided at the “HIGH” level of trust. Digital documents stored in the eDokladovka application can be shared online or offline with the control application. The citizen is in full control of what data is shared with the control application. The app will be available for virtually all current phones (Android and iOS). Although primarily a mobile app, development for a standard PC platform is also possible. The security of the storage and the way data is exchanged between the holder’s app and the verifier’s app is based on the globally recognised interoperable standard ISO 18013/5. The application has active protection against reverse engineering as well as user protection against hacker attacks. If a mobile device is lost or replaced, the eDokladovka app needs to be reinstalled and individual documents need to be activated. With the need to log in to these documents using PIN or biometric data, the number of misuse of personal documents is expected to be significantly reduced. The use of mobile documents also has an impact on saving time spent with the authorities. And they will not have to deal so much with the agenda of lost personal documents and will be able to use the prescription of forms by automatically reading the data from the mobile document. The State Printing Works of Securities is currently conducting intensive discussions with all relevant parties on both a possible technical solution and other necessary — especially legislative and procedural — aspects. The SPWS is ready to finalise the prototype of the eDokladovka application and participate in its implementation as soon as possible.
Thank you for the interview.
