The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) says the providers will be in charge of issuance, renewal, suspension, reinstating and revocation of the certificates, among other things. This will make online or web-based transactions secure and facilitate signing of email or electronic documents to ensure the integrity of their content.
In February this year, the country moved a step ahead in terms of making e-commerce a reality by recognising electronic documents in the Kenya Communication Amendment Act 2009. However, it is yet formulate guidelines for licensing and regulating electronic signature providers.
As such, CCK is yet to license third parties to certify electronic contracts and signature. Their absence in the wake of the fast move towards electronic commerce and the government adopting online services in the Judiciary, Immigration, land transactions and other departments, allows fraudsters to forge electronic signatures.
Licensing of third parties to issue certification on electronic contracts and signatures is expected to provide the confidence needed in online transactions since one can verify electronic contract documents or signature through the providers.
"The Commission is developing the regulatory framework for this sub-sector. Once this exercise is completed, the public and the industry shall be informed," said CCK director general Charles Njoroge.
He added that in general terms, electronic signature providers - to be referred to as Certification Service Providers (CSPs) - will be required to meet global electronic signature best practice standards. This will be in terms of systems hardware or software, security (physical, systems, infrastructure), personnel (expert knowledge, experience and qualifications), confidentiality, integrity, availability of data and systems, records management and performance audits, among others.
In the proposal, CCK says it will license a number of CSPs, and the subscriber's verification method employed by the issuance of certificates shall be specified in the certification practice statement.
"It shall be the responsibility of the certification service provider to determine, based on the official documents, the identity of the person to whom a certificate is issued," read part of the proposed guidelines.
The licensing certificate for the providers shall contain information related to conditions of usage of the certificate and limits on the value of the transactions and a secure electronic signature of the CSPs that verifies the information in the certificates.
For international transactions, foreign CSPs will be required to offer their services through agencies registered and based in Kenya. Revocation of the certificates will be done upon the request of the subscribers or if a case of forgery has been proven against the subscribers.
Mr Muriuki Mureithi, a regional ICT expert, said in an earlier interview with Business Daily that the creation of the independent body that can verify the identity of the documents between two parties who want to enter into a contract will boost the confidence needed in the sector.
"The third parties will be able to check the authenticity of electronic documents and signatures which has been lacking" said Mr Mureithi.
The arrival of undersea fibre optic cables and the coming into force of the Kenya Communication Amendment Act 2009, that incorporates electronic legislation, has opened a window for e-commerce in Kenya.
While the fibre cables - Seacom, TEAMs and Seacom - now provide the country with faster Internet connection compared to the previous satellite connectivity, the new law on electronic signatures seeks to facilitate development of information communication and e-commerce. The electronic signature intends to lend authenticity and integrity to correspondence in an electronic media.
These factors are slowly transforming and changing the mindsets of individuals and institutions that have in the past been reluctant to adopt platforms that can aid e-commerce such as payment gateway portals.
Banking institutions are among those that previously did not want to enter into partnership with technology companies to offer electronic payment solution. The fear was based on lack of proper legislation to support electronic trading and protection of the parties involved, factors that have hindered growth in online trade.
Payment system
A report by Forrester, a research firm, indicates that online global retail sales, excluding travel purchase, grew to $204 billion last year up from $174.5 billion in 2007.
However, a change of heart in the banking industry is being witnessed with I&M Bank and Visa card announcing an online gateway payment system in partnership with a South Africa IT company, iVeri.
The gateway payments not only eliminate the need for local shoppers to go through offshore merchants but also widens the platforms of payment. Although people have been doing online shopping in Kenya, the mode of payment to local outfits have been mainly the mobile phone money transfer services, especially Safaricom's M-PESA or Zain Kenya's Zap.
A number of local IT start-ups such as Pesa Pal and Interpid have also developed local gateway payment.
Interpid Data System, for example, partnered with Safaricom and Zain to allow online buyers of goods to use either M-PESA or Zap to pay for their goods through a new platform, iPay.
However, the key factor differentiating this from platforms using a similar mode of payment is that the money is only released to the seller after confirmation by the buyer that the goods have been delivered.
Interpid Data System managing director Steve Nyumba says although there are other platforms using M-PESA and Zap as modes of online payment, a major concern has been creating confidence among those buying goods online that their money is safe.
"We have entered into an agreement with Safaricom and Zain that allows them to hold the money for a period before it is released to the merchants," said Mr Nyumba. "The time frame depends on the volumes of trade, and can be a weekly circle."
However, this does not include those selling products that are on digital formats such as music stores, online book stores, publishers, video libraries, e-ticketing, consultancies, donor supported organisations and premium content providers.
Electronic certificates are also used to ensure secure computer-to-computer communication.
"The Judiciary, and other e-government services, indeed need to use electronic certificates in their online systems to secure their online data," said Mr Njoroge.
Goes digital
Last month, the Court of Appeal rolled out of a telecommunication link between the Nairobi and Mombasa courts. The Judiciary is also in the process of digitising documents to ensure that all court files can be obtained electronically.
The link, commonly referred to as telepresence, is meant to ease access to justice and reduce corruption.
Currently, if an individual or corporate organisation files an appeal, their lawyers have to appear before judges in Nairobi, incurring travel and other expenses. The costs are met by the person filing the appeal, meaning increased costs of accessing justice.
It is estimated that the government could be spending over Sh1 million on the cost of travelling, boarding and security for judicial staff per session.
The telepresence will enable Court of Appeal judges to conduct virtual appearances, thereby reducing the frequency and cost of travel.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Okuttah Mark
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 08.11.2010
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