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The various branches of government,
whether legislative, executive, or judicial, are the custodians of public
filings and data. They must be able to 1. receive data from private and
public sources, 2. safely store the data in a form that can be shared
afterwards as public information, as necessary, 3. determine whether the
data has remained unchanged while in governmental custody and control,
and 4. archive the data securely for an indefinitely prolonged term.
In addition, since 9/11/01, Governments
must be able to intercept and act upon terrorist communications.
These needs implicate encryption
technologies. There is a strong correlation between them which is not
always fully appreciated.
- Unrestricted
access to encryption by ordinary citizens poses a danger to all of us
so long as terrorists sworn to destroy our way of life continue to live
and roam freely among us.
- The same technologies
that are used to sign digitally can be used to encrypt data for confidentiality
purposes.
- Encryption,
if unrestricted and unrestrained, acts to destabilize law enforcement.
A paper envelope
simply shields the contents from view by casual observers. Law enforcement
officials can seize and open it if legally justified by a warrant or
exigent circumstances. This is often not possible with encrypted electronic
communications. Encryption additionally scrambles the contents in a
way that even the most powerful law enforcement tools have difficulty
deciphering.
- XKI's dual-tiered
encryption™ solves
the problem. Access to unrestricted encryption is reserved for persons
with a legitimate need for it, following a background check. Other encryption
is subject to search and seizure by officials, just as postal mail is
subject to the same governmental powers today.
- XKI™ signatures
meet proposed HIPAA requirements for electronic and digital signatures
as well as existing federal requirements of the Electronic Signatures
in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 USC, Chapter 96, section 7001
et seq. and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration for Electronic
Records and Electronic Signatures, 21 CFR §11.3(5),
and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, by way of example.
- An XKI™
signature authority is under the control of the court or agency that
operates it. This reduces uncertainty about how today's digital signatures
can be verified years or decades into the future.
- Although government
in the United States by federal statute is required to be technology
neutral in signature technology decisions, an important exception exists
for government procurement activities. Procurements can be based upon
a preference for a particular technology over others. Through procurement
decisions important protections for homeland security can be secured.
XKI has been crafted with this need in mind, for both signature and
encryption features. The same technology that is used to sign digitally
is also used to encrypt data for confidentiality purposes.
- XKI™ is
also designed to optimize interoperability between agencies and jurisdictions,
regardless of brands or types of digital certificates that may be employed
by users.
XKI™ achieves this result without a need to cross-certify Certification
Authorities, which often is a cumbersome and expensive procedure.
Other
features include:
- Ease of use.
- Low cost of
acquisition and administration.
- Optional integration
of biometrics.
- Successful
track record. E.g., the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two efiling
site.
- Audit
trails that are easily organized into confidential reports.
- Clearly
defined, machine recognizable limits on authority, including authority
to act on official governmental matters.
To find out more
about XKI Atomic Signatures™ download the White
Paper. |
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