Packaging
Giesecke & Devrient to Supply Austrias e-card for a Further Five Years
Monday 27. October 2008 - The Main Association of Austrian Social Insurance Institutions (HVB) has extended its contract with Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) for an additional period of five years.
Under the terms of the new contract, worth approximately 20 million euros, the Munich-based company has been entrusted with the production, personalization and delivery of a total volume of around nine million electronic social insurance cards (the e-card) from 2010 onward. Deliveries of the latest-generation Austrian e-card, which combines the functions of a health insurance card and a citizen card for e-government applications, will commence in early 2010.
“The issue of the new e-card is the next logical step in the ongoing modernization of the Austrian health system. Giesecke & Devrient has been a reliable partner throughout the introductory phase, and they have presented a very convincing bid for the continuation of the project,” commented Volker Schörghofer, Deputy General Director of the Main Association of Austrian Social Insurance Institutions.
Hans Wolfgang Kunz, who heads G&Ds Government Solutions business unit, is pleased with the results so far: “The introduction of the social insurance card in Austria, co-managed by the HVB and ourselves, has been a great success. This pioneering project is meanwhile recognized as a model for the rest of Europe – both in the health sector and in public administration, where the citizen card function provides a secure means of processing e-business and e-government transactions.”
Distribution of the next generation of the e-card to Austrias citizens is due to start in 2010. The cryptographic security levels of the new e-card have been adapted to meet future requirements. As an option, the new card can also be supplied for the first time with a photo and lettering in Braille. It will also serve as an electronic key enabling cardholders to access their medical records online. The card contains the holders master data such as name, title, date of birth and social insurance number. G&D will produce the cards, personalize them optically and electronically with the cardholders individual data, and ship them to the citizens home address. The contract also includes the professional version of the card (the o-card) used by physicians to gain authorized access to the system.
Like its predecessor, the new-generation e-card is equipped with contacts that allow the chip to be read for authentication, and a signature mechanism enabling it to be used both as a health insurance card and as a citizen card with a qualified signature. This enhanced functionality provides support for secure e-business and e-government transactions.
Giesecke & Devrient is one of the leading providers of innovative telematics applications for modern health system administration. In addition to the chip card, the technology group is also supplying a high-performance background system to the Austrian authorities (the card application management system – CAMS). This system provides card lifecycle management functions throughout the life of the insurance card. Substantial orders for this vital component of the telematics infrastructure have also been received from German customers in preparation for the introduction of Germanys electronic health card (eGK), scheduled for 2009.