imID: Powering Armenia’s National Digital Identity Ecosystem with Entrust

As imID prepared to roll out nationwide digital identity and qualified signature capabilities, the company faced several critical challenges:

• Regulatory compliance: Meeting eIDAS and international trust standards for qualified signing.
• Security assurance: Delivering hardware-backed cryptographic operations with tamper resistance.
• Institutional trust: Providing banks, telcos, and government agencies with confidence in the system’s security posture.
• Scalability: Building a robust, auditable infrastructure capable of supporting millions of secure transactions.

Without a certified HSM integrated into a Qualified Signature Creation Device (QSCD) environment, imID could not offer qualified electronic signatures, the highest-assurance and automatically recognized form of legally binding signatures under eIDAS.

To address these challenges, imID implemented Entrust nShield HSMs as the secure hardware layer within its QSCD architecture. This integration ensures that all cryptographic operations – such as key protection and signature generation – occur in a hardened, tamper-resistant environment recognized by international standards.

Entrust stood out for its internationally recognized certifications, including eIDAS and Common Criteria, which gave imID’s stakeholders immediate confidence. These certifications made compliance discussions easier and accelerated partner onboarding. The Entrust team provided hands-on support throughout deployment, making the process seamless and straightforward.

Key components of the solution included:

• Certified HSM technology: Serving as the trust anchor for qualified electronic signatures.
• Compliance alignment: Entrust certifications streamlined regulatory approvals.
• Auditability: Strong logging and security controls simplified compliance checks for banks and government agencies.

The result was a secure, scalable foundation that enabled imID to deliver high-assurance digital identity and signature services nationwide.

After implementing Entrust nShield HSMs, imID strengthened the cryptographic foundation supporting its qualified electronic signature services and broader digital identity ecosystem.

Key outcomes include:

• Simplified partner due diligence processes through reliance on Entrust’s internationally recognized certifications
• Streamlined security audits for banks and regulators
• Significant reduction in internal security engineering workload
• Zero critical security incidents attributable to cryptographic hardware since deployment

With Entrust powering its secure hardware layer, imID is now positioned to scale Mobile ID and signature services nationwide – meeting international trust standards and enabling Armenia’s digital transformation.

imID’s partnership with Entrust lays the foundation for future innovation. The company plans to expand qualified signature use cases across more industries, onboard additional regulated institutions that rely on Entrust certifications for assurance and strengthen the trust fabric for cross-border digital service compatibility. Proven security and compliance credentials provided by Entrust will continue to make integration smoother and compliance discussions far easier as imID scales its ecosystem.