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UK trials first mobile electronic signatures
news In order for a false patent to be denied it must be proven that the idea had been implemented before the date of the patent application and there must be evidence of its integrity. So, IP.com will date-stamp and seal information as it is published. However, not everyone is convinced. The patent office has a list of 900 databases that it has undertaken to search, so one more may not make much difference. Also, programmers may not use the provision. Either way, the move shows a long awaited reconciliation between the open source and the intellectual property community. And it can only help to prevent false patenting. See the agreement at www.Foresight.org/priorart/ind ex.html. For more on the publishing firm see www.IP.com. The service goes live on 1 May. It will cost just $20 per submission and this is guaranteed for five years, but likely to remain in the database indefinitely.
Defamatory poster exposed A High Court judge in the UK has ordered financial websites to reveal the identity of the poster of a message in a discussion group. The ruling is a victory for Totalise, about whom the defamatory remarks were made. The poster, known online as ‘Zeddust’ put his comments up on the Motley Fool website, but when the webmasters saw it, it was taken down and Zeddust was banned from posting. The mystery libeller went onto another site, Interactive Investor International and posted more comments. The new site cen-
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sored the content and cancelled Zeddust’s membership. When Totalise asked the sites for the real identity of the person who posted defamatory comment, both websites refused to give it. However, the ruling means they must now reveal his identity. Justice Robert Owen said that he had to rule in Totalise’s favour as had he not done so, it would have meant that the Courts endorsed the use of the Internet as a platform for defamation. He explained that because the bulletin boards were managed, the website was responsible for the content. If the sites had been merely the carriers of that data then they would not have been liable to furnish the courts with any information.
Germany to require ISPs to monitor Web The German Government is to implement a law making E-mail subject to surveillance by ISPs. It says that ISPs will have to store connection data and content for six months, and that it must be passed to the authorities as required. ISPs will also be responsible for installing appropriate monitoring equipment at their own expense. ISPs will be subject to inspection by the Regulatory Authority for Elecommunications and Posts, in the same way as German telecom companies are. The proposed law has been hailed as the ‘German Carnivore’. It is known as the Telekommunikations-Uberwachungsverordnung, or TK.
Failure to apply the technology correctly will result in fines of DM 20 000, that’s 10225. Intranets will, however, be exempt from the regulations.
WIRELESS NEWS
UK trials first mobile electronic signatures Network operator Vodafone has partnered with the Radiocommunications Agency (RA) to implement the UK's first mobile digital signature workplace trial. The RA — part of the British Government's department of trade and industry (DTI) — has offered 50 of its staff to carry out the test. They will use Siemens C351 GSM phones to electronically sign their expenses claim forms while they are out of the office. When a user wishes to sign a claim form, he will have to enter a PIN code to release the signature stored on the phone's SIM card. This will then asymmetrically encrypt the data as it is sent. Paul Donovan, MD of Vodafone UK said, “We hope that these trials go some way towards establishing the technology and help the DTI to promote the UK as the European leader of M-commerce.” The group sees the mobile digital signature technology replacing the traditional handwritten signature in many contexts in the workplace. Colin Smith from global accounts at SmartTrust Ltd. claims, “Digital signature technology overcomes many of the
security fears surrounding online transactions, both on the fixed and wireless Internet. With a digital signature, users can authenticate themselves and secure transactional information over a mobile network. Where there is a legal infrastructure to support them, these digital signatures are also admissible in a court of law, further protecting consumer rights.” The involvement of the DTI lends credibility to the project, and some industry commentators have already said that this trial marks the coming of age of mPKI (mobile Public Key Infrastructure). Assuming the success of the trial, Vodafone intends to roll out the service to its customers by the end of the year. The technology is compatible with SAT+2 and WAP as well as 3G phones and services. Pundits at research group Strategy Analytics predict that the M-commerce market will be worth $230 billion by 2006.
The mPKI partners • Vodafone UK E n a b l e s the integration of the technology into the mobile network • GlobalSign Certificate Authority • Sonera SmartTrust Supplied software to allow the phones to interact with the certificates • Secartis (G&D subsidiary) Supporting the directory of certificates and acting as a TTP • Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) Developed the SIM card — PKI STARSIM, a microbrowser with PKI plug-in Who does what in the UK mPKI trials.
Defamatory poster exposed A High Court judge in the UK has ordered financial websites to reveal the identity of the poster of a message in a discussion group. The ruling is a victory for Totalise, about whom the defamatory remarks were made. The poster, known online as ‘Zeddust’ put his comments up on the Motley Fool website, but when the webmasters saw it, it was taken down and Zeddust was banned from posting. The mystery libeller went onto another site, Interactive Investor International and posted more comments. The new site cen-
4
sored the content and cancelled Zeddust’s membership. When Totalise asked the sites for the real identity of the person who posted defamatory comment, both websites refused to give it. However, the ruling means they must now reveal his identity. Justice Robert Owen said that he had to rule in Totalise’s favour as had he not done so, it would have meant that the Courts endorsed the use of the Internet as a platform for defamation. He explained that because the bulletin boards were managed, the website was responsible for the content. If the sites had been merely the carriers of that data then they would not have been liable to furnish the courts with any information.
Germany to require ISPs to monitor Web The German Government is to implement a law making E-mail subject to surveillance by ISPs. It says that ISPs will have to store connection data and content for six months, and that it must be passed to the authorities as required. ISPs will also be responsible for installing appropriate monitoring equipment at their own expense. ISPs will be subject to inspection by the Regulatory Authority for Elecommunications and Posts, in the same way as German telecom companies are. The proposed law has been hailed as the ‘German Carnivore’. It is known as the Telekommunikations-Uberwachungsverordnung, or TK.
Failure to apply the technology correctly will result in fines of DM 20 000, that’s 10225. Intranets will, however, be exempt from the regulations.
WIRELESS NEWS
UK trials first mobile electronic signatures Network operator Vodafone has partnered with the Radiocommunications Agency (RA) to implement the UK's first mobile digital signature workplace trial. The RA — part of the British Government's department of trade and industry (DTI) — has offered 50 of its staff to carry out the test. They will use Siemens C351 GSM phones to electronically sign their expenses claim forms while they are out of the office. When a user wishes to sign a claim form, he will have to enter a PIN code to release the signature stored on the phone's SIM card. This will then asymmetrically encrypt the data as it is sent. Paul Donovan, MD of Vodafone UK said, “We hope that these trials go some way towards establishing the technology and help the DTI to promote the UK as the European leader of M-commerce.” The group sees the mobile digital signature technology replacing the traditional handwritten signature in many contexts in the workplace. Colin Smith from global accounts at SmartTrust Ltd. claims, “Digital signature technology overcomes many of the
security fears surrounding online transactions, both on the fixed and wireless Internet. With a digital signature, users can authenticate themselves and secure transactional information over a mobile network. Where there is a legal infrastructure to support them, these digital signatures are also admissible in a court of law, further protecting consumer rights.” The involvement of the DTI lends credibility to the project, and some industry commentators have already said that this trial marks the coming of age of mPKI (mobile Public Key Infrastructure). Assuming the success of the trial, Vodafone intends to roll out the service to its customers by the end of the year. The technology is compatible with SAT+2 and WAP as well as 3G phones and services. Pundits at research group Strategy Analytics predict that the M-commerce market will be worth $230 billion by 2006.
The mPKI partners • Vodafone UK E n a b l e s the integration of the technology into the mobile network • GlobalSign Certificate Authority • Sonera SmartTrust Supplied software to allow the phones to interact with the certificates • Secartis (G&D subsidiary) Supporting the directory of certificates and acting as a TTP • Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) Developed the SIM card — PKI STARSIM, a microbrowser with PKI plug-in Who does what in the UK mPKI trials.