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THE FRENCH government is planning to launch a central online login service that it claims will protect web users against identity fraud.
The project, called IDéNum, will allow consumers to login to government websites, online banking and mobile phone accounts using a small, secure USB device that they plug into their computer
and which generates a PIN to enter on the website.
Digital Economy Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said the new system would "avoid the nightmare of having 1,001 different passwords". She said it was "not only more secure, but more
simple" - offering a similar level of protection to that of a bank card.
IDéNum will be tested by the end of the year and it is hoped it will be ready for launch in 2011. About 20 organisations - private and public - have agreed to take part, including La Poste,
mobile operator SFR and the French tax and social security authorities.
A promotional video shown to journalists at the launch showed a web user registering a new-born baby with the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales, signing an online credit agreement for a loan
and proving their identity for an eBay purchase.
