********************************************
The Government has been actively promoting e-business in the community. Through the implementation of the e-government programme and enhancements to the information and communication technologies infrastructure, it has progressively established a reliable and secure environment that inspires public confidence in electronic transactions.
At the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Forum, the Director of Information Technology Services, Mr Alan Wong, said today (September 15) that Government had launched a number of initiatives to enhance Hong Kong's e-security infrastructure and facilities.
These included the enactment of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance in January 2000 that provides a legal framework for the conduct of e-business. Under the ordinance, electronic records and digital signatures are given the same legal status as of paper-based documents. It also provides the basis for PKI to develop in Hong Kong.
Mr Wong said that Government had been playing a leading role in the adoption of the PKI for nearly a decade. He cited a number of examples of government projects to make his point.
The Community Electronic Trading System was launched in 1997 for processing online trade-related documents including import and export declarations, certificates of origin and cargo manifests over an electronic data interchange platform. To secure the data exchange and payment transactions, the system uses PKI technology.
Today, there are some 53,800 companies participating in the system, generating more than 51,000 transactions per day and 17 million documents annually.
Mr Wong said plans were in hand for a second service provider to offer front-end electronic trading services from next year.
The new service will be Internet-based and PKI will be employed to secure the electronic transactions.
Another well-known example of PKI adoption is the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) scheme under the e-government programme. Digital certificates are employed to ensure confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation for transactions requiring a higher level of security.
Since its launch in December 2000, over 3.9 million transactions have been performed through the ESD scheme. The public can access about 170 services offered by 50 government departments or public agencies.
Under the Electronic Tendering System, another e-government initiative, PKI technology is used for signing and encrypting documents for companies to submit tender proposals to the government electronically.
Mr Wong said the Government played an active role in promoting standardisation on the adoption of technologies, including PKI. Hong Kong has participated in international forums, such as the e-Security Task Group of the APEC.
The e-security infrastructure that the Government has built has helped create opportunities for the local IT industry. It has also provided the stimulus for tertiary research and development projects on security-related items. On one occasion, this has led to the establishment of a local company providing commercial security solutions to the community.
The Smart ID Card employs sophisticated cryptographic techniques to protect user data, ensuring that it cannot be fraudulently altered or accessed by unauthorised parties. Its successful launch has provided a technology platform for future applications.
Mr Wong said that the Smart ID Card would inspire the industry to develop applications, products and solutions based on the chip embedded in the card that employed PKI technologies. The Smart ID Card provides a secure platform to facilitate the development of e-government and e-business. It has great potential and will create business opportunities for service providers, software vendors and developers involved in the adoption of PKI and PKI-enabled solutions.
End/Monday, September 15, 2003
NNNN
