User and Access Management in Belgian e-Government

Abstract

Efficient e-government is not possible without integrated information management. From a privacy protection per-spective systems integration has to be preferred over data integration. A well-accepted model for the organisation of user and access management in this perspective is a federation based on circles of trust. The following pages describe how this model is implemented in Belgium, using five building blocks: unique identification numbers, the electronic identity card, validated authentic sources, service integrators and sector committees for data protection. Using these building blocks user and access management is organised following a generic policy decision model. The objective is to illustrate that integrated e-government is not necessarily incompatible with optimal protection of privacy.