Teamwork as government embraces PKI

       In an attempt to boost awareness of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology, a key factor to secure online commerce, the public and private sector has teamed up to form the Thailand PKI Association.
       The association has been formed by those who are providing certification authority (known as CA), application development companies, government agencies and other concerned parties.
       PKI is the essential infrastructure for electronic commerce as it minimises the risk of fraud, according to Sak Segkhoonthod Director of Government Information Technology.
       As the chairman of the association,Sak noted that the group's mission is to build PKI awareness in Thailand and strengthen technical assistance for those who deal with e-commerce.
       The establishment of the association is the first step of Thailand's readiness in providing CA to international standard.
       Members include those who run e-commerce businesses such as banks,stock exchanged listed companies, and government agencies.
       Bank of Thailand has been developing infrastructure to serve CA and every commercial bank must comply with the same standard.
       The components, including infrastructure network, operation and security system of e-commerce, has already been completed. The association will now encourage those public and private sectors to partake in e-commerce while the association acts as the centre of technical knowledge and PKI operations.
       According to National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec)legal expert Surangkana Wayuparb, PKI is a strategy to ensure the trust of online trading of Thailand.
       Besides encouraging awareness, it also proves the readiness in self-regulation of CA and PKI application developers.
       Currently, there are some 10,000 digital certificates and it is expected that at least 100,000 more will be issued within one year, especially those in logistics and import/export companies, Surangkana said.
       The association recently has invited PKI experts from Taiwan, both of public and private sector, to share their experience and success factors in addressing PKI to build security and lessen risk in e-commerce."Taiwan has been very successful in the field by which today there are 2 million electronic certificates,"Sak said.
       Meanwhile, Nectec has been working with organisations in Taiwan in knowhow transferring."Taiwan will disclose the source code or algorithm to Thailand," the association chairman said.
       According to National Statistical Office (NSO), the value of e-commerce of Thailand in 2007, mostly B2G, was recorded at 427 million baht.
       About 50 percent of internet surfers in Thailand have reportedly engaged in online trading, but the survey conducted by the NSO on people at six years old upward found that 97 percent said they never booked or purchased goods online because they did not trust the online traders, and also because they had not physically seen the products.