An interagency group is developing a framework to certify federal public-key infrastructure policies and establish trust levels for interagency PKI use. The Federal Bridge Certificate Authority is still in the prototype phase, said Judith Spencer, director of the Federal Technology Service s Center for Governmentwide Security. We should be going live by the first of the year, and we re looking at being fully operational in 18 months. FTS Access Certificates for Electronic Services program provides contracts for setting up technically interoperable PKIs. But no one will use the contracts unless they feel confidence in the digital certificates underpinning the PKIs.
Agencies face a dilemma in taking their core business online.
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act requires them to put forms and processes online by 2003. Preliminary plans are due by the end of this month. Va. DiPentima, former chief information officer at the Social Security Administration, said trust is as important as security. He reminded the audience of SSA s experience in providing Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate statements over the Web. Eventually, however, because of congressional pressure, SSA took the site down.