VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMD #0108 0291338
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291338Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1819
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0677
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 1747
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0001
RUEHTL/AMEMBASSY TALLINN 0112
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0685

UNCLAS MADRID 000108 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB/CIP/MA J. ENNIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN'S EXPERIENCE WITH ELECTRONIC IDENTITY CARDS 
(EIDS) 
 
REF: STATE 130106 
 
¶1. (SBU) Electronic identities in Spain are governed by Law 
59 of 2003, known as the electronic signatures law.  Spain 
began issuing electronic national identity cards (DNIs) in 
¶2006.  The DNI is the document that citizens and residents 
are required to present for access to government facilities 
and many private buildings and interaction with government 
officials as well as many commercial transactions (use of a 
credit or debit card, for example).  The electronic ID cards 
come with a chip containing secure identifying information. 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to contacts in the Secretariat of State 
for Telecommunications and the Information Society (SETSI), 
there are more than 14 million electronic DNIs in 
circulation.  (Note: The population of Spain is about 45 
million).  These are manufactured by the National Coin and 
Stamp Factory (FNMT, a subdivision of the RCM or Royal Mint). 
 Within FNMT, a department known as Spanish Certification 
(CERES) provides an electronic certification accepted by all 
branches of the GOS.  FNMT manufactures the plastic chips and 
programs the individual data into them. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In addition to the electronic DNIs, FNMT offers 
other electronic ID cards which are not DNIs but have some of 
the same attributes and can be used for commercial 
transactions.  It has reportedly issued approximately 2.27 
million of such non-DNI electronic ID cards  Finally, FNMT 
also offers cardless electronic IDs which can be downloaded 
from the Internet directly to an individual's computer hard 
drive.  The technology of the various types of IDs is 
similar, but the electronic cards offer more security than 
the cardless downloaded IDs.  That said, SETSI is not aware 
of any security issues or lapses or identity theft involving 
electronic IDs in the almost four years the DNI program has 
been in operation. 
 
¶4. (SBU) SETSI's Sub-Directorate for Information Society 
Services (SDSSI) financed the development of electronic DNIs 
and oversees the program.  It serves as a central point for 
anything having to do with electronic IDs and is responsible 
for regulating their use.   SDSSI sponsored a campaign in 
2007-8 to make electronic DNIs available over the entire 
national territory and to increase their use by the public. 
Individuals apply for the electronic DNIs through local 
National Police stations, which serve as one-stop shops. 
FNMT sends completed electronic DNIs to the police stations 
for distribution to applicants. Currently 259 local police 
stations across the country and an additional 90 mobile rural 
police stations are able to distribute electronic DNIs, and 
the government is striving to increase this number. 
 
¶5. (SBU) SETSI, in conjunction with CERES, also authorizes 
certain private entities to issue electronic IDs.  These are 
mostly Chambers of Commerce and other business groups which 
issue electronic ID cards for use with Spain's tax 
administration and in electronic commerce transactions.  Some 
major banks (Santander, Banesto) and companies (Telefonica) 
are also authorized to issue the cards. Though there are many 
electronic DNIs in circulation, citizens are not using them 
much because they don't understand them very well or know how 
to use them.  In general, many Spaniards have not yet gotten 
used to conducting transactions over the Internet, and 
electronic commerce has not reached its full potential. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Additional information is available on the CERES 
website, www.cert.fnmt.es.  Click on "welcome" in the upper 
right-haQcorner for information in English.  The 
government's primary POC for issues related to electronic IDs 
is Salvador Soriano, Deputy Director General for Information 
Society Services, Secretariat of State for Telecommunications 
and the Information Society (SETSI), Ministry of Industry, 
Tourism, and Trade (MITYC), tel: 34 91 346-1597, e-mail 
slsoriano@mityc.es.  Soriano expressed a willingness to 
coordinate meetings and visits for persons interested in 
learning more about the program's architecture and the 
manufacture and distribution of EIDS.  Embassy POC is 
ecQmic officer Peter Higgins, tel: 34 91 587-2295, e-mail 
higginsjp@state.gov. 
SOLOMONT