Such systems include bank clearing, stock market trading, bond dealing, corporate banking and many others where high value electronic payments are being made. However, the global use of the Internet has seen a rapid growth in electronic commerce increasing the need for a more structured security environment and for the emergence of global standards. We believe a more generic solution is now required, although Racal will, of course, continue to provide bespoke solutions for those who require them. The answer to the above questions lies in the realm of public key technology, which is a cryptographic technique involving public and private keys. Public key technology is such that certificates cannot be fraudulently produced or altered and verification is very straightforward.
Additional privileges are simply certificate extensions.
Of course, there is more to it than that. One other crucial part of the jigsaw involves initial registration of users of the system. Only once validity of identity has been established can a certificate be issued. For instance, registration for an Internet banking application may well involve rigorous checking, whereas registration for a secure e-mail system could well be done electronically. Registration normally occurs at a registration authority, of which there may be many.