Hongkong Post e-Cert - From Secured to Re-assured
The Solution to Online Trading
We
have all witnessed the explosion of Internet
services and how they have integrated into
our daily lives. People are now used to sending
email, exchanging electronic data and conducting
commercial transactions over the Internet
or other electronic means regularly.
Like
a lot of us however, you probably still wonder
how secure your online transactions are.
Concerns arise as to whether:
- a
person is really who he/she claims to be;
- your
e-mail content has been tampered with;
and
- the privacy of your electronic communications
with others can be protected.
1.
That is why Hongkong Post built a Public
Key Infrastructure ("PKI") in early 2000 and became the first public recognised certification authority
("CA") under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance ("ETO") (Cap. 553). As a public CA, Hongkong Post CA issues recognized digital certificates
("e-Cert") that comply with the provisions of the ETO. Under the ETO, digital signature
supported by an e-Cert enjoys the same legal
status as a handwritten signature. In addition,
Hongkong Post CA has also launched the world's
first Mobile e-Cert system to issue mobile
e-Cert to support online services conducted
through mobile devices. Both the Hongkong
Post e-Cert and Mobile e-Cert are issued
to individuals and businesses to authenticate
the online identity of subscribers and provided
a secure and trusted environment for the
conduct of online transactions. Hongkong
Post CA also maintains a certificate repository
and directory to allow the public to verify
the validity of a particular Hongkong Post
e-Cert or Mobile e-Cert prior to carrying
out online transactions.
These
services provide a secure and trusted environment
for the conduct of online transactions.
Hongkong
Post e-Cert has so many advantages
- Authentication - proof of identity of the parties in an
electronic transaction;
- Integrity - proof
that the message contents have not been
altered, deliberately or accidentally,
during transmission;
- Non-Repudiation -
proof of agreement of the terms of transactions
and prevention
of denial of commitment; and
- Confidentiality - protection that the content
and information of a transaction is kept
private and secret from unauthorised
third parties.
The types of Hongkong
Post digital certificates
Hongkong Post issues seven types of digital certificates
to individuals and organisations in Hong Kong
: -
[Recognition
Status] of Hongkong Post CA and above e-Certs.
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