Translated with DeepL
We pay by card at the supermarket checkout, fill out electronic forms from public authorities and manage our money via online banking. Digital technologies are convenient. But using them also requires a lot of trust. A trust that is abused time and again: Hackers paralyse websites, cyber criminals intercept data and fake emails trick users into disclosing sensitive information.
The current social debate about digital identity solutions shows that Digital trust is the critical infrastructure of the 21st century. But how can we create systems that can really be trusted?
At the "Centre for Digital Trust", funded by the Werner Siemens Foundation, computer science professors from ETH Zurich and the University of Bonn are working on a fundamental redesign of internet security. Their approach is to transfer trust relationships from the physical world, where people meet face to face, to the digital world.
"An e-ID is an important prerequisite for secure applications in our digital society," says Professor Adrian Perrig from ETH Zurich, project leader at the centre. Together with his colleagues David Basin and Peter Müller, he is developing security systems that can be trusted one hundred per cent. They can be used to reliably secure the identity of communication partners.
The researchers are focussing on innovative concepts. For example, two parties can shake hands digitally when they meet for the first time by shaking their mobile phones and exchanging cryptographic keys. Another project aims to develop a digital protection emblem for humanitarian institutions such as hospitals or the Red Cross to protect them from hacker attacks.
A particularly impressive example of the practical application of this research is the "thenti" app developed by David Basin and his team. It enables the digital authentication of paper documents. The concept is simple, but also very effective: a QR code on the document is scanned with the app and the document is then compared with the original version stored in encrypted form. The City of Zurich has been using the app successfully since April 2024 to verify debt collection register extracts.
The result: daily enquiries about forgeries have fallen from 20 to 30 to just 5 to 10, with genuine forgeries practically no longer being detected. This is the first time in the world that a digital system has been used to verify the authenticity of paper documents under real conditions. The potential extends far beyond debt collection statements and includes civil status documents, diplomas and luxury goods.
Digital trust is not created by technology alone. It is the result of a complex interplay of three elements
at the same time, the move towards a digital identity poses new challenges. Centralised data storage systems become attractive targets for attacks, opaque systems undermine trust and unclear responsibilities make accountability more difficult. Research at the Centre for Digital Trust shows: We as a society urgently need to lay the foundations for trustworthy digital infrastructures.
Digital identification has long been a reality. The crucial question is: Who designs the systems in which we identify ourselves? Who controls these critical infrastructures? Societies are facing a fundamental decision: do they want to actively shape the design of digital identity systems and focus on transparency, data protection and self-determination? Or will they leave this field to other players such as tech companies or platforms? These questions are part of the current debate.
Digital trust is not a binary quantity that is either present or absent. It must be continuously developed, technically implemented and socially negotiated.
What is needed is a broad social dialogue on how we want to design digital infrastructures that both enable innovation and protect fundamental rights. Research provides the technical foundations.
However, this is the real paradox of our time: the more sophisticated the technology becomes, the more important the archaic becomes. The researchers at the Centre for Digital Trust have understood this and are not only asking how we can make systems more secure, but also how fundamental principles of interpersonal trust can be translated into a world of bits and bytes.
Their work shows that trust is not a property of systems. It is a relationship between people that is mediated by systems. That is why it can neither be programmed nor imposed. Trust only arises where technology takes a step back, where it becomes transparent and serves people instead of dominating them.
Switzerland is at a crossroads that goes far beyond the current debate. The question is what kind of digital society we want to be. One that prioritises innovation and efficiency above all else? Or one that harmonises technological progress with democratic control, self-determination and human concerns and fears?
We won't find the answer in one weekend. But we can start to develop it together. With the precision of engineers, the foresight of researchers and the common sense of citizens. Because ultimately, the crucial question is not whether we can trust each other in the digital space. It's whether we trust each other to shape this space together.
Trust is not something that can be solved technically, nor can it be imposed. It has to be earned, day by day, system by system and decision by decision by all of us, researchers, developers and citizens.
The E-ID is a government-issued electronic proof of identity. It is intended to supplement the physical identity card. It would make it possible to identify yourself securely online and carry out digital administrative procedures.
The SATW is not making an election recommendation. However, we are using the vote as an opportunity to shed light on the fundamental importance of digital trust, regardless of the outcome of the vote.
The debate about the e-ID shows that digital trust is one of the key issues of our time. As a technical-scientific academy, we would like to contribute to a more objective discussion and show what research is already being done on this topic.
The three project leaders are Professor David Basin (Information Security), Professor Peter Müller (Programming Methodology) and Professor Adrian Perrig (System and Network Security), all from ETH Zurich. The academic partner is Professor Matthew Smith from the University of Bonn.
The researchers are developing methods that digitally replicate real-life encounters. One example: two people can "shake hands" by shaking their smartphones and exchange cryptographic keys. This is similar to a handshake in the real world, which creates trust.
Regardless of the outcome, the fundamental question remains: How do we design digital identity systems that both enable innovation and protect fundamental rights? The technical solutions are available - now it is a matter of implementing them in such a way that they earn the trust of users.
Many European countries have already introduced digital identity solutions, from Estonia (pioneer since 2002) to Germany (since 2021). Switzerland can learn from these experiences - both from successes and mistakes.
