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The government is to allow more digital certification
authorities to operate in Indonesia to protect Internet users from the
growing threat of cybercrime, a senior official at the Information
Ministry says.
Hafni Septiana, the head of the e-commerce section at the ministry,
said Thursday that firms interested in acting as certification
authorities (CAs) should apply for operating licenses from the
certification authorities regulatory agency (BPCA), which would be
established sometime next year.
She said that the setting up of the agency, which would be a 15-member
panel comprising government officials, academics and IT experts, was
now underway.
"We have completed the drafting of the technical regulations needed for
the BPCA's operation," Hafni told The Jakarta Post.
The establishment of the agency was essential to ensuring that firms
providing certification services not only met the set standards, but
were also characterized by high levels of integrity.
She said that a number of companies were providing certification
services at present, but only for internal purposes.
According to Hafni, the CAs would have the task of issuing digital
certification and digital signatures to protect both website owners and
users from Internet fraud.
Teddy Sukardi, chairman of the Information Technology and Internet
Federation, said that the CAs would help users to differentiate between
websites and e-transactions that were genuine and those that were bogus.
"A certification authority can help with tracing if a suspicious
transaction occurs," Teddy said.
He said that to become a CA, an applicant would need to acquire a
certificate from the Certification Authority Certification Board (LSCA)
before applying for a license to the BPCA.
"A CA's operating permit will be valid for three years and can be
renewed for another three. If a CA decides to close up shop, it should
transfer its users to another CA," Teddy explained.
He said that the CAs, the BPCA and the LSCA were needed in Indonesia to
safeguard electronic transactions, especially in the absence of a cyber
law.
The government submitted a draft cyber law to the House of
Representatives two years ago for approval. But, to date, the
deliberation of the bill has not been completed.
"The regulations on the BPCA, the LSCA and the CAs will be in line with
the cyber bill. So we can protect consumers while waiting for the House
to endorse the bill," Hafni said.
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