Mobile qualified electronic signatures for secure mobile brokerage

Despite a legal framework being in place for several years, the market share of qualified electronic signatures is disappointingly low. Mobile Signatures provide a new and promising opportunity for the deployment of an infrastructure for qualified electronic signatures. We that SIM-based signatures are the most secure and convenient solution. However, using the SIM-card as a secure signature creation device (SSCD) raises new challenges, because it would contain the user’s private key as well as the subscriber identification. Combining both functions in one card raises the question who will have the control over the keys and certificates. We propose a protocol called Certification on Demand (COD) that separates certification services from subscriber identification information and allows consumers to choose their appropriate certification services and service providers based on their needs. This infrastructure could be used to enable secure mobile brokerage services that can ommit the necessity of TAN lists and therefore allow a better integration of information and transaction services

Mobile qualified electronic signatures and certification on demand

Despite a legal framework being in place for several years, the market share of qualified electronic signatures is disappointingly low. Mobile Signatures provide a new and promising opportunity for the deployment of an infrastructure for qualified electronic signatures. We analyzed two possible signing approaches (server based and client based signatures) and conclude that SIM-based signatures are the most secure and convenient solution. However, using the SIM-card as a secure signature creation device (SSCD) raises new challenges, because it would contain the user’s private key as well as the subscriber identification. Combining both functions in one card raises the question who will have the control over the keys and certificates. We propose a protocol called Certification on Demand (COD) that separates certification services from subscriber identification information and allows consumers to choose their appropriate certification services and service providers based on their needs. We also present some of the constraints that still have to be addressed before qualified mobile signatures are possible

Interleaving Command Sequences: a Threat to Secure Smartcard Interoperability

The increasingly widespread use of smartcards for a variety of sensitive applications, including digital signatures, creates the need to ensure and possibly certify the secure interoperability of these devices. Standard certification criteria, in particular the Common Criteria, define security requirements but do not sufficiently address the problem of interoperability. Here we consider the interoperability problem which arises when various applications interact with different smartcards through a middleware. In such a situation it is possible that a smartcard of type S receives commands that were supposed to be executed on a different smartcard of type S'. Such "external commands" can interleave with the commands that were supposed to be executed on S. We experimentally demonstrate this problem with a Common Criteria certified digital signature process on a commercially available smartcard. Importantly, in some of these cases the digital signature processes terminate without generating an error message or warning to the user.Comment: 6 pages; published in the 10th WSEAS International Conference on Information Security and Privacy (ISP 2011

An Evaluated Certification Services System for the German National Root CA - Legally Binding and Trustworthy Transactions in E-Business and E-Government

National Root CAs enable legally binding E-Business and E-Government transactions. This is a report about the development, the evaluation and the certification of the new certification services system for the German National Root CA. We illustrate why a new certification services system was necessary, and which requirements to the new system existed. Then we derive the tasks to be done from the mentioned requirements. After that we introduce the initial situation at the beginning of the project. We report about the very process and talk about some unfamiliar situations, special approaches and remarkable experiences. Finally we present the ready IT system and its impact to E-Business and E-Government.Comment: 6 pages; 1 figure; IEEE style; final versio

Pendekatan konstruktif dalam inovasi pengajaran dan pembelajaran Bahasa Melayu di Kolej Vokasional

Pendekatan konstruktif adalah pendekatan pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang berpusatkan pelajar manakala inovasi pengajaran pula dikaitkan dengan kaedah pengajaran yang terbaru demi mengukuhkan pemahaman pelajar. Pembelajaran berasaskan pendekatan konstruktif merupakan elemen yang penting dan perlu difahami oleh guru-guru bagi memantapkan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran sesuai dengan peredaran masa dan menjayakan proses tranformasi pendidikan negara. Objektif kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti pemahaman guru-guru bahasa Melayu berkaitan inovasi, mengenal pasti perbezaan yang wujud antara guru lelaki dan guru perempuan dalam mengamalkan inovasi, pengkaji juga melihat adakah wujud perbezaan antara guru baru dan guru yang sudah berpengalaman dalam aspek mengaplikasikan inovasi serta mengenal pasti kekangan-kekangan yang dialami oleh para guru untuk mengaplikasikan inovasi di sekolah. Seramai 63 orang guru bahasa Melayu dari lapan buah kolej vokasional telah dipilih sebagai responden dalam kajian ini. Data dianalisis menggunakan perisian Winsteps 3.69.1.11 dengan pendekatan Model Pengukuran Rasch. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahawa guru�guru bahasa Melayu memahami kepentingan inovasi dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Hasil kajian juga menunjukkan guru-guru perempuan lebih banyak menerapkan unsur inovasi dalam pengajaran berbanding guru lelaki. Walaupun begitu, aspek pengalaman tidak menunjukkan perbezaan dari segi pengamalan inovasi sama ada guru baru ataupun guru yang sudah berpengalaman. Pengkaji juga mengenal pasti beberapa kekangan yang dialami oleh guru-guru untuk mengamalkan inovasi ini. Sebagai langkah untuk menangani masalah berkenaan, beberapa cadangan telah dikemukakan oleh pengkaji bagi memastikan guru-guru dapat merealisasikan proses pengajaran berkesan dengan penerapan inovasi mengikut model pendekatan konstruktif. Pengkaji berharap, kajian ini dapat dijadikan sebagai satu panduan kepada pelaksana kurikulum bagi memastikan budaya inovasi sentiasa menjadi amalan dalam kalangan guru demi mengangkat profesionalisme guru di Malaysia

Smart cards: State-of-the-art to future directions

The evolution of smart card technology provides an interesting case study of the relationship and interactions between security and business requirements. This paper maps out the milestones for smart card technology, discussing at each step the opportunities and challenges. The paper reviews recently proposed innovative ownership/management models and the security challenges associated with them. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible future directions for the technology, and the challenges these present