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The Act has two main parts. Part 1 provides for the establishment of a register of approved providers of "cryptography support services". The register is proposed to be voluntary and there is therefore no requirement that you are approved before you can provide cryptography services. But in practise, where trust is an important element, becoming an approved provider may be essential.
Cryptography Service Providers (CSPs)
Who may set up a cryptography service? The Act little guidance save to say that Cryptography Service Providers (CSP'S) must be fit and proper persons to be approved in respect to those services.
CSP's are defined to include any service provided to senders or receivers of electronic communications which provides cryptographic techniques for (a) Decrypting of documents by certain persons or (b) ascertaining authenticity of such communications. The later point "ascertaining authenticity of communication" must include the provisions of an electronic signatures verification service and the issue of certificates for electronic signatures
The Register
The register of approved providers under the Act is restricted to providers who provide services from the addresses within the UK or who provide services to persons or businesses within the UK.
This raises a potential problem - it may be necessary for service providers based in other member states to become approved in the UK of they wish to provide cryptography services that may be used here. The danger is that if they are not on a list of approved providers this may undermine confidence/trust in those providers.
Digital Signatures: ECA Now Operative
The EU Directive on electronic signatures was adopted in December last year and must be implemented in member states by mid July 2001. The UK is currently ahead of the game - the Electronic Communications Act 2000 has implemented and directive. Both the directive and the Act provide for the legal recognition of electronic signatures. Since 25th July 2000 electronic signatures can be used in the United Kingdom. Electronic signatures are widely defined as anything which establishes the authenticity of the communication or data.
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