Torsten Becker, Bernd Dusemund, Lutz Gollan, Thomas Engel, Christoph Meinel

Trust Centre: Infrastructure, Specifications and Standards

Abstract

Secure on-line data exchange today asks for confidentiality, non-repudiation and integrity of the transferred data and also for the possible authentication of the partners to an electronic communication. The usage of electronic signatures within a Public-Key-Infrastructure is the up-to-date scheme to guarantee these assets. Electronic documents can be signed by means of a so-called digital signature. A trust centre acts as the guarantor for the authenticity of digital signatures. In this study the technical requirements for a trust centre are described. To explain the work of a trust centre the general functions of it and their interactions are outlined in the first chapter. In the second chapter the standards and specifications for the components of a trust centre are described.