CCL/ITRI's PKI technology provides a secure environment for e-commerce and e-government

The Computer and Communications Research Laboratories (CCL) of the Taiwan-based Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) recently announced its latest development on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). PKI is the fundamental structure of authentication over the Internet, hence is a basic requirement of e-Commerce and e-Government. CCL applied PKI technologies in various applications such as e-Payment, Information Security, Mobile Commerce, etc. It is also applied as a security control platform that can consolidate financial trading over the Internet including stock, securities, funds, and life insurance. This technology surely paves the way for financial holdings companies to develop a tool to consolidate Internet applications. In addition, CCL also developed an authentication registration system for TaiCA Corporate, allowing different financial institutions to interact with each other under a secure environment and to provide a whole new value-added service to consumers.

PKI uses public key encryption and digital signature to protect the privacy and integrity of data, provide verification and non-deniability, and thereby to ensure the security in data transmission. The financial PKI platform developed by CCL fosters interoperability of different financial control mechanisms, providing a secure authentication tool for the management of financial information exchange. With strong R&D work over the years, CCL has built up its expertise in PKI core technology.

Cathay Financial Holdings and TaiCA are two successful stories for using CCL's PKI technology. The Cathay Financial Holdings, a pioneer in Taiwan's financial business, developed a "One Stop Shopping" financial services to integrate its stocks, mutual funds and life insurance trading over the Internet. TaiCA is using CCL's PKI to provide the solution for interoperability between various financial institutes so that they can exchange confidential data.

The restructuring and merging of financial institutions have become increasingly common, making it necessary for Taiwan to open up its financial market. On the other hand, financial holdings companies will lead the future development and transformation of finance industry by applying information technology. On-line financial services will rely on PKI products and technologies to provide secure web transactions. In the long run, Internet users will be able to file tax returns and submit payments using a single authentication provided by PKI security mechanism. Looking into the near future, a secured personal Internet ID card will be issued to each Internet user to protect his/her own confidentiality when using e-government and e-commerce services. (Released November, 2002)