By Government Information Service | Prime Minister’s Office
June 22, 2012:
The Mauritian Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Ecosystem, which aims at
creating the right environment to engage e-Commerce and e-Business in a
secure and trusted environment, was launched at the Hennessy
Park Hotel, in Ebène Cyber-city.
On
that occasion, the first certification authority to operate in
Mauritius, eMudhra Consumer Services Ltd, received its recognition
certificate, and the Information and Communications Technologies Authority (ICTA), which is also the Controller of Certification Authorities (CCA), launched an Information Guide on the Mauritian PKI
Ecosystem.
PKI
is a cyber security infrastructure put in place to prove the identities
of people, websites, computer programmes and applications on the
Internet as well to secure online transactions through the use of
Digital Certificates. The Information Guide gives an insight about the
PKI to the public in general and contains salient features of the
legislations related to the PKI.
In
his opening address, the Minister of Information and Communication
Technology, Mr Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, said that the development
taking place today is a stepping stone in making e-Government
applications more interactive on a secured environment. He announced
the launching of a paperless Government project using the PKI. This,
said the Minister, will then spill over to other applications that are
currently running under the Government Online Centre. He also
encouraged Ministries, departments, public bodies as well as private
institutions to make use of the facilities developed around the
conducive environment created for the development of the Mauritian PKI.
For
his part, the High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, Mr. T.P.
Seetharam, congratulated all parties concerned for the implementation of
the PKI following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with
the CCA of India three years back. India stays committed to be a
productive partner with Mauritius in various fields and continue to work
together to the mutual advantage of both countries, he added.
About PKI
Mauritius
has its own PKI since 6 December 2010. In a PKI, a CA issues Digital
Certificates to end users. A Digital Certificate on the Internet is
similar to an ID card in the real world. The CA verifies the identity of
the end user and publishes certificates on an on-line repository where
people can verify each other’s certificate. The CCA as the apex trust
agency for the Mauritian PKI, in turn, must approve the methods used by
the CA to verify the identity of a subscriber before granting or
renewing a subscription for a certificate.
In
May 2012, the technical infrastructure required for the issuance of the
digital Licence/Recognition/Approval was installed at the premises of
the ICTA. In the same month, the CCA of Mauritius issued a recognition
certificate to the first foreign CA who can now start its operation in
Mauritius.
It
is recalled that to enable a secure electronic transactions operating
environment, the Electronic Transactions Act was amended and the
Electronic Transactions (Certification Authorities) Regulations 2010
came into effect on 1 December 2010 providing for the licensing
framework as well as the regulation of Certification Authorities (CA)
activities in Mauritius.
