Unified Authentication System (GE0068)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Georgia Action Plan 2018-2019
Action Plan Cycle: 2018
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: LEPL – Public Service Development Agency (PSDA), Ministry of Justice of Georgia (MoJ)
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
IRM Review
IRM Report: Georgia Transitional Results Report 2018-2019, Georgia Design Report 2018-2019
Early Results: No IRM Data
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: No
Ambition (see definition): Low
Implementation i
Description
Commitment 3: Increasing access to public services through introduction of a Unified Authentication System
Public electronic services essentially differ from the “classical” online services. For conducting an activity, the electronic mail system, social network, blogs system, etc. do not need to know physically who stands behind the consumer. Suffice for them to ensure that no unauthorized person could use the service on behalf of the consumer. In the case of the public electronic services, it is not sufficient; the physical identity of the consumer needs to be also known here. Currently, different mechanisms allowing for the more or less correct physical identification/authentication of a person operate in Georgia. Such mechanisms are generally in the hands of public institutions with developed infrastructure and cannot be shared by other institutions. As a result, a significant part of the information protected in the state/public structures is not electronically accessible for citizens.
The purpose of a Unified Authentication System (UAS) is to give any public (and private in perspective) institution a wide choice of personal identification tools in the online space and to get over thus one of the most serious barriers in the way of their service digitization process. The UAS shall be managed by the Public Service Development Agency, which is the public registry maintenance body in Georgia and has competence for reliable personal identification. In this case, other public institutions will be able to concentrate generally on completion of own databases and online accessibility of the information kept therein and save thus significant resources.
The prevention of unauthorized disclosure of information stored in public databases has different criticality. The UAS will allow public institutions define themselves the critical level of the publishable information and suit accordingly the personal identification difficulty thereto. This will release the user from the necessity of using the card and PIN code for accessing less critical information.
Commitment 3. Increasing access to public services through introduction of UAS
Lead Agency LEPL – Public Service Development Agency (PSDA), Ministry of Justice of Georgia (MoJ)
Other Involved Actors Public Agencies
Civil Society /Private Sector/International organization
Issues to be Addressed Today, for the purpose of public services online accessibility, each public agency has developed own web-portal, where the users, for authentication purposes, individually register and only after that can make use of any service. As a result:
- Citizens need an individual registration for each different system, with different name and password;
- Frequently such registration requires coming to the site, video ring, etc.;
- Organizations themselves had to independently work on the part of authentication when working on the digitization of own services ;
- This causes an improper spending of resource of said citizens and organizations.
The UAS ensures existence of a reliable and protected online authentication in the country, which will contribute to an increase in accessibility of public services, information openness and simplicity of accessing it, because:
- In all switched on systems (whether private or public), the user will need the same user’s name and password or ID card and PIN code (as well as Mobile ID in the future);
- Organizations will easily digitize own services.
Main Objective Development of a UAS in the country.
OGP Principles Transparency Accountability Citizens Participation Technologies and Innovations
Milestones to Fulfill the Commitment New or ongoing commitment Start date: End date:
Launching the UAS in the operating mode and integration with the PSDA share-point or other system of nonpublic use. New June 2018 December 2018
The UAS integration into distant services of the PSDA. New July 2018 December 2018
Preparation and initiation of legislative amendments for delivery of the UAS to other agencies. New July 2018 June 2019
The UAS integration into systems of other organizations. New December 2018 December 2019
Indicator The USA has been integrated into:
1. Before the end of the first quarter of 2019, in the system of 1 organization at least (apart from the Agency itself).
2. Before the end of 2019, in the system of 10 organizations at least.
Risks and Assumptions - Delay in approval of legislative amendments;
- Shortage of resources and/or preparedness on the part of organizations to be included in the system.
IRM Midterm Status Summary
Commitment 3: Increasing Access to Public Services through Introduction of UAS
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:
“The purpose of a Unified Authentication System (UAS) is to give any public (and private in perspective) institution a wide choice of personal identification tools in the online space and to get over thus one of the most serious barriers in the way of their service digitization process. The UAS shall be managed by the Public Service Development Agency, which is the public registry maintenance body in Georgia and has competence for reliable personal identification. In this case, other public institutions will be able to concentrate generally on completion of own databases and online accessibility of the information kept therein and save thus significant resources.
The prevention of unauthorized disclosure of information stored in public databases has different criticality. The UAS will allow public institutions define themselves the critical level of the publishable information and suit accordingly the personal identification difficulty thereto. This will release the user from the necessity of using the card and PIN code for accessing less critical information.
The UAS ensures existence of a reliable and protected online authentication in the country, which will contribute to an increase in accessibility of public services, information openness and simplicity of accessing it, because:
- In all switched on systems (whether private or public), the user will need the same user’s name and password or ID card and PIN code (as well as Mobile ID in the future);
- Organizations will easily digitize own services.”
Milestones:
- Launching the UAS in the operating mode and integration with the PSDA share-point or other system of nonpublic use
- The UAS integration into distant services of the PSDA
- Preparation and initiation of legislative amendments for delivery of the UAS to other agencies
- The UAS integration into systems of other organizations
Start Date: June 2018
End Date: December 2019
Editorial note: For the full text of this commitment, please see https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/georgia-action-plan-2018-2019/.
Context and Objectives
With this commitment, Georgia’s Public Service Development Agency (SDA) plans to introduce the Unified Authentication System (UAS) into its services. By introducing UAS, SDA aims to address several issues related to delivering public services electronically. For example, the UAS system will allow citizens to use the same log-in information (username and password) for all government webpages that offer public services. It will also allow citizens to receive online services that otherwise would require an in-person visit (such as the issuance of a passport) or a video call for authentication. For service providers, UAS can help direct their resources on the development of services, rather than having them individually develop and administer authentication systems.
While the development of UAS might improve public service delivery, this commitment is not directly relevant to OGP values. The commitment provides verifiable activities, as well as a clearly stated objective (the development and introduction of UAS nationwide). Although this initiative could improve procedural accessibility to public services, the commitment will likely represent only an incremental improvement to online public service delivery. [16]
Next steps
Although the introduction of UAS might have a positive impact on public service delivery, the IRM researcher does not recommend carrying this commitment forward to future action plans.
[16] Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, “IDFI’s Assessment of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) National Action Plan for 2018–2019,” https://bit.ly/2uukwOt.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
3. Increase access to public services through introduction of Unified Authentication System (UAS)
Theme 1: Improving Public Services
Limited
The Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) launched the UAS in December 2018. However, due to technical incompliances, PSDA temporarily removed the system in 2019. PSDA did not develop legislative amendments within the action plan’s timeframe due to the complex process of harmonization of the national legislation with EU law, that required additional time, human, and financial resources. [33]