Electronic Signature Technology in Hungarian Governmental IT Projects in 2010-2015

Abstract

To improve Hungarian e-governance capabilities by developing new IT services, the Hungarian Government has spent more than one hundred million Euros since 2010. As the base pillars of the Hungarian Digital State, a number of Controlled Electronic Administration Services (CEAS) have been implemented. The usability of any digital system which can be linked to trust depends on the authenticity of stored and processed information. Using unauthentic information may result in fraudulent activities, which should be avoided in the Administration. Electronic signatures are methods of authentication as defined by the 93/1999 Union enacted the Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council called eIDAS. in September of 2014. eIDAS contains comprehensive and obligatory rules for applying electronic identification and electronic signature in Europe. It is the continuation of 93/1999 EU Directive, therefore addressing this topic is expected in IT projects in 2015. The examination was performed on IT projects coordinated by the Hungarian Governmental – Information Technology Development Agency. The analysis focuses on three questions: 1. Is electronic signature technology applied in project administration? 2. Which electronic signature attributes appear in the final results of the projects? 3. What kind of electronic signature dimensions appear in the projects? The presentation summarizes the main attributes of the examined projects, describes conceptual definitions of authenticity, gives a brief introduction into the electronic signature dimensions, and formulates conclusions about the success and lack of applying electronic signature elements in Hungarian Governmental IT projects