The Estonian government on Thursday night decided to suspend the certificates of all ID cards vulnerable to a security risk first detected in late August as of midnight on Friday night, a decision that will affect the holders of over 750,000 ID cards who have not yet been able to update their certificates. Until midnight, however, these ID cards can be used to set up a Smart-ID, SK ID Solutions spokesperson Liisa Lukin told BNS on Friday.

Once the certificates have been suspended, it will still be possible to set up a Smart-ID at Swedbank and SEB bank branches.

While it cannot currently be used like an ID card to provide legally-binding digital signatures, Smart-ID can be used to access several financial, educational, telecommunications, energy and retail trade services.

To use Smart-ID, a user must download the Smart-ID app from the Google Play store or App Store on their smart device and identify themselves using their Mobile ID or ID card. As with the ID card and Mobile ID, Smart-ID also requires the use of PIN1 and PIN2 codes, which the user will create within the app. The Smart-ID is free of charge.

SK ID Solutions, founded and owned by Swedbank, SEB Bank and Telia Eesti, is Estonia's partner in issuing certificates for identity documents.

e-Residency director: Leading digitally means new challenges

In a Friday blog post with information aimed at Estonia's e-residents, e-Residency managing director Kaspar Korjus apologized for the inconvenience this issue has caused, but noted that protecting the integrity of users' digital identities must come first.

"Estonia is proud to be a digital leader and help spread the benefits of our digital nation to as many people around the world as possible through e-Residency," Korjus said. "That also means we will sometimes be the first to encounter new challenges and must take responsibility for the solution. We will always do so with full transparency because our digital nation depends on the trust of all its people —  citizens, residents, and e-residents."