1. Elitex ’08 : Securing Indian Cyber Space Interoperability and Standardisation issues for India PKI Sivarama Krishnan Executive Director PricewaterhouseCoopers  *connectedthinking

2. PricewaterhouseCoopers2 Contents Digital Certificate – Introduction Understanding Interoperability Indian Scenario Interoperability and Standardization Focus areas for standardization Way Forward

3. PricewaterhouseCoopers3 Digital Certificates - Introduction Digital Signatures help deliver services in a secure online environment Digital Signatures are central to e-commerce and e- governance applications Today, Digital Signatures are being used in diverse applications – e procurement, tax filings, payment applications IT Act,2000 established Digital Signatures at par with handwritten signatures CCA licenses and regulates Certifying Authorities who in turn issue Digital Signatures to end user

4. PricewaterhouseCoopers4 Understanding Interoperability in Digital Signatures Two Facets of Interoperability Interoperability between certificates from different Certifying Authorities –Digital Certificates issued by all Certifying Authorities should be accepted by the applications Interoperability between applications –A Digital Certificates purchased for one application should also work with other applications Benefits of Interoperability –Each individual needs only one Digital Certificate which will work with all applications –This Digital Certificate can be issued by any of the 7 CAs –This reduces the ‘cost per use’ of Digital Certificates –Helps in increasing the usage of Digital Certificates in variety of applications –Thus, increased manageability and ease of use for end user

5. PricewaterhouseCoopers5 Indian Scenario : Need to increase interoperability For many applications, the end user needs to buy a new Digital Certificate even if he has another valid certificate of the same Class The nomenclature used by CAs is not standardised, so the classes of certificates varies from CA to CA Some applications need specific fields in the Certificates, hampering their usage in other applications Thus, need for initiatives to increase interoperability

6. PricewaterhouseCoopers6 Interoperability and Standardisation Standardisation is the easiest way to ensure interoperability Ensuring Interoperability is a multi-step process: Definition of Standards Implementation and Monitoring of Standards Periodic review of standards to incorporate new business requirements Interoperability and Standardisation have symbiotic relationship If the standards are well defined and well implemented, achieving interoperability would be easy

7. PricewaterhouseCoopers7 Focus areas for standardisation Need for Standardisation in following areas: Certificate Format (Fields and Contents) Certificate Nomenclature Storage Medium Application development standards Interoperability would be ensured by Designing applications to support Digital Certificates from all Certifying Authorities Ensuring that the standards are followed religiously by all stakeholders

8. PricewaterhouseCoopers8 The Way Forward Devise and implement Standards Interoperability Testing for applications Make Digital Signature an integral part of e-governance initiatives – common approach for e-governance MMPs Increasing role of India PKI forum

9. PricewaterhouseCoopers9 Thank You Sivarama Krishnan Executive Director PricewaterhouseCoopers sivarama.krishnan@in.pwc.com © 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers. All rights reserved. “PricewaterhouseCoopers”, a registered trademark, refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited (a limited company in India) or, as the context requires, other member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.