tScheme - voluntary approval for certificate authority services

摘要

This paper describes tScheme, the independent, industry-led, co-regulatory scheme for electronic trust services. A broad coalition of organisations representing users, service providers and technology suppliers from industry, trade bodies, consumer interest groups, government and elsewhere actively supports tScheme through their membership contributions and by sending delegates to its expert working groups. tScheme operates as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and owned by its members. Its governance ensures its openness, transparency and independence. It is self-funding from annual membership contributions, service approval fees and licence payments for the permitted use of its materials. tScheme creates definitive documents ? known as approval profiles ? containing the criteria to which electronic trust services must operate if they are to adhere to known best practice. tScheme publishes these criteria and offers electronic trust service providers the opportunity to have their individual services assessed against the appropriate profiles. Services that meet the criteria and gain approval are able to indicate this by displaying the tScheme Approved Service mark, thereby encouraging user confidence. Service providers using the mark are bound by contractual terms covering continuing performance, redress and sanctions to ensure that good practice is maintained. tScheme provides the co-regulatory environment that avoids the need for the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to invoke his powers under Part I of the Electronic Communications Act 2000. tScheme also enables the UK government to fulfil certain obligations under the European Directive for a Community Framework on Electronic Signatures. Through tScheme, the UK is demonstrating its leadership in creating an ideal environment for the growth of electronic commerce.