So the time finally came. My digital signature expired. I've known this would happen for 2 years now, and have had inklings as of it's effect. Ironically this happens on the days L160 enters it's last step to completion.
And for those of you not knowing L160, it's basically the law which dictates every danish person either accepts the NemID OCES terms of service\use or be a criminal. To cite one of my news medias.
For those that doesn't know what I'm talking about, let me line it up as simple as I can:
In Denmark the financial sector have created a company to handle digital identities. This started some 10 years ago with net banking not wanting to accept the official certificate solution which was a bit tricky to get running.
So they've created their own solution hand lobbied the Government into using the same scheme to enroll everyone into the digital age.
2 years ago they presented and launch then basically Single Sign On credentials under idea that it was a "digital Signature" meaning you and only you would have access to it. Oversimplifying it the rouse took good hold of the populace, piled onto it was the fact that all online banking required the use of the NemID.
In this day and age, few people can live without net banking a few have tried, and precious few resists. So of a populace of 5,5 million people was issues a NemID by the end of 2011.
Now for the funny part. the NemID credentials are owned, used and managed by this DanID firm, which is a private firm working for the Financial sector. Pretty much as a workers union, but for banks.
Yet with a simple check box, you agree by binding contract that NemID is as legally binding as well your passport, and can be used thusly in all danish government matters. It's infallible, so if anything is wrong, you are carring the risk and would be liable for the damages.
Thus far you can avoid the government part and use the ID for Banking purposes alone, thusly holding a barrier between the finacial sector and your government records, say insurrance companies will still have to ask permission to read your health records, and even inform you if they do. You do that by not aquiring both the NemID and activating the OCES certificate for it.
Currently the treasury minister is passing a law dictating that all goverment information is to be provided via digital means, and specificly via something called "E-Boks". This is rather convinient, if it was not for one simple fact. "E-Boks" is a privately owned company, and you have no claims on the information they store on your behalf. Also the only access to that system is via the NemID OCES or digital signatur OCES (the old PKI solution). Also mind you there's not the love option to withdraw your agreement with these firms....
Now to be fair within the law there's rules for exceptions. And these exceptions are claimed by showing up at the local municipality office and claim the rigth. Within the law there's indications as criteria you should fulfill to claim exception. Ohh, if you claim exception falsely you're guilty of fraud and can be sentenced to 4 years of jail... But the general understanding is that you can claim exception but you're are not suppose to and will be punished accordingly for it (when time permits).
So what the frag does all that have to do with me specifically.. Yea, as I mentioned from the start my original OCES certificate expired this Monday, thus I can't renew it and my only option to regain a such would be by accepting the terms of usage given by DanID. And I don't want to do that. So do I need one?
Well besides the inconvenience that I can not report taxes, sign my kids up for school or daycare. I can't interact much with governmental issues. But "E-Boks"....
In theory anything could be sent to be in that web mail and I'd be legally responsible for reading and acting upon it's constant. This is no matter if I have access or not. And for this I only have one option (get a NemID OCES).
As I keep telling people the coming years will be rather interesting times, things are actually going for the worse moving along a self destructive path. At some point the barriers of sanity will be broken and the times after that will be radically different then the day and age of today. Interesting indeed.
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