Secure digital identities are a key factor for further digitalisation in Europe, a stronger convergence of the Digital Single Market, and more efficient public administration. In this regard, Prof. Norbert Pohlmann, eco Board Member for IT Security, comments on the update of the eIDAS Regulation by the EU Commission.

Whether it’s vaccination certificates, ID cards, driving licences or school reports: Our everyday life is still too heavily reliant on physical documents, thus inhibiting digitalisation. This is the view expressed in interview by eco Board Member Prof. Norbert Pohlmann. But with Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), processes in public administration, business and society can be massively simplified and many processes can now be digitalised in a trustworthy manner.

The eco Association is working together with well-known partners on a Blockchain Governance Framework. Interested parties are invited to join the network of trust as consortium partners.

Kevin Wittek from if(is) outlines the possibilities for creating a federated blockchain operated by infrastructure providers who are eco members. Read more on dotmagazine.

Sebastian Beyer from CERTIVATION GmbH explains how digital identities and blockchain could make our lives easier. Read more on dotmagazine.

dotmagazine explores the interplay between online and offline identities, identity management & authentication, and compliance with eIDas & the GDPR.

Our #LiT Ladies in Tech interview series features outstanding and inspiring female professionals and executives from the Internet industry. This time: Katja Tietze, Blockchain Consulting and Business Development at T-Systems Multimedia Solutions.

Practical blockchain know-how for SMEs – 36-page white paper provides firsthand expert blockchain knowledge & application scenarios

Blockchains have not yet developed a unified naming convention, and it’s time they did, argues Christa Taylor from Minds + Machines.

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Patrick Ben Koetter from the eco Association explores blockchain solutions for email and the need to bring the whole email ecosystem to the table.

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Data protection plays a major role in many blockchain-based project ideas, and presents issues which are not always easy to resolve, as Stephan Zimprich, Leader of the eco Competence Group Blockchain, explains.

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On 11th December, around 100 experts met at the Blockchain Masters in Cologne, where it was agreed that, with the initial hype now behind us, more and more IT applications are now using blockchain technology as a given. In the future, this technology will even present alternatives to platform monopolies. Meanwhile, a focal point in 2019 will be asset tokenization.

Blockchain technology offers massive potential for state administration. Stephan Zimprich, Leader of the eco Competence Group Blockchain, looks at how this foundational technology could transform e-government.

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On 28th November in Cologne, the eco Association will present one of the Internet industry’s most prestigious awards. In seven award categories, a jury of experts comprising of representatives from industry, academia, research, and politics has selected the three most promising submissions of 2018 and nominated them for the eco://award.

The digitalization of public administration: blockchain applications for e-government & governance models for blockchains - event report.

Public administration offers and requires the same properties as blockchain: transparency, trust, and immutability. But does this predestine blockchain to be suitable for all e-government processes? Volker Skwarek explores potential use cases.

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Blockchain offers governments the opportunity to revolutionize their handling of citizen data and the allocation of rights in secure e-government scenarios. Dieter Rehfeld argues for the development of a European public-sector blockchain infrastructure, establishing Europe as a leader in the area.

Digitalizing government services requires the entire process of storing and handling the data of citizens to be revolutionized. Taavi Kotka, former Chief Information Officer of the Estonian Government, explains the value of e-government services to a country, and how blockchain helps to overcome the hurdles to transformation.

With more and more people and IoT devices connecting to the Internet, solutions are needed to authenticate unique digital identities. The eco Association looks at ways to alleviate the digital identity crisis and to offer users a secure online ID on the basis of blockchain.

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In a world where smart contracts are executed by a network of mutually distrusting nodes without a central authoritative entity, security plays a pivotal role. However, security matters are often neglected – with dire consequences, as Dr. André Kudra points out.

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Smart contracts, based on blockchain technology, are software programs that offer a very secure and transparent way of documenting and automating business processes. But as software programs, they are not immune to security vulnerabilities, as Professor Alexandra Dmitrienko explains.

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Part II of the July/August issue of eco’s dotmagazine has just been published. In addition to specialist articles on the topic of blockchain, this edition includes an interview with Chair of the eco Board, Oliver Süme concerning the proposed EU e-Privacy Regulation.

Martin Przewloka, CDO of msg group automotive, explains how blockchain can be utilized in marketable products, and how companies can develop prototypes.

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How blockchain can be used for educational qualifications to provide a guarantee of authenticity for digital certificates. An illustration based on the Blockchain for Education platform from the Fraunhofer FIT.

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The same processes that secure Bitcoin and friends can also be used for securing other forms of data. But what is it that makes blockchain so secure? Professor Norbert Pohlmann, from the eco Association, explains.

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Part I of the July/August issue of eco’s dotmagazine has just been published. In addition to specialist articles on the topic of blockchain, this edition includes an interview with Chair of the eco Board, Oliver Süme concerning the proposed EU e-Privacy Regulation.

Read more on dotmagazine

Blockchain technology will have a decisive impact on the future of the mega-trend digitalization: this was a key message of the Blockchain Masters 2018 in Hamburg. Blockchain is regarded as offering massive potential for supporting transparent supply chains and public administration.

70 per cent of German companies would like public authorities to offer the option of exchanging data via blockchain: That is the main finding of a survey undertaken amongst companies by eco and YouGov. Effectively, the business sector in Germany are looking to administrative authorities to act as blockchain pioneers.

eco's monthly English-language in-depth magazine opens its call for contributions from eco member companies and specialists on the topics of e-Government and Blockchain Applications.

The deadline for submission of texts is Sunday, 27 May 2018. If you are interested in submitting a text, please contact the dotmagazine team in advance.

As a technical platform for digital innovations, blockchain is a term currently on everyone's lips – given that, as a cross-sectional technology, it enables transparent and tamper-proof transactions. The application possibilities appear to be practically unlimited. In interview, Stephan Zimprich, eco Director for Blockchain,...