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Dr. Ecommerce:
We are interested in trust and security systems for electronic commerce. Can you tell me about research and development projects in this area?
Top Secret
Dear Top Secret:
Certainly. The following document, rescued from our information
mountains, should fill you in.
15.2.1999 DG XIII/HI
Electronic signatures and encryption
1. The key action II of the new Information Society
Technologies Programme (IST) has an action line (number
four) addressing information and network security. In the
1999 calls the issues of identification and secure transactions
will be stressed.
The Information Society theme in the fifth Framework Programme of EU RTD) was agreed at the Research council on 22nd December 1998. The budget figure agreed for the IST programme is 3.6 billion euros for four years (1999-2002).
The Fifth Framework Programme is one of the largest research and development programmes of the world. The Commission received hundreds of formal submissions as input to the preparation of the fifth framework programme and also held a wide variety of informal discussions. To reflect the ongoing convergence of information and communication technologies different areas of information and communications technologies have been merged into the IST programme.
The key action on electronic commerce (New methods of work and electronic
commerce) is divided into action lines, which will form the basis of the
calls for proposals in 1999. The first call will open the 16th of March
1999. For most people electronic commerce implies buying and selling electronically
using the Internet. The concept in Key Action II is broader, including
electronic support for commercial processes between businesses and consumers,
other businesses or public bodies, from product
development to after-sales support covering thus the whole value chain.
The electronic commerce domain of Key Action II will develop new technologies
for trading goods and services in the electronic
marketplace. The aim is to meet the objectives of increased competitiveness
of companies and the creation of better quality jobs. At the same time
new inter-organisational and market dynamics paradigms are identified
and created.
ICT offers possibilities for new business models that use existing as
well as new platforms, such as mobile communications and satellites and
integrated infrastructures. The aim is simply not to apply current technologies,
but rather to support mid- to long-term new technology research and development.
Special emphasis is
put on exploiting European strengths such as electronic payment systems,
smart cards and mobile information devices. Technologies are closely linked
to the globalisation of business
and work and to socio-economic factors. The programme will take this into
consideration by giving particular attention to strong interplay between
the technical, economic, social and
legal issues. Socio-economic research will guide, monitor and assess research
and development in information society technologies for work and business.
Identification and authentication is a very topical example of future
work in electronic commerce. The programme will support work
to develop and validate protocols, technologies, systems and services
for identification and authentication in different kind of electronic
relationships. The goal is to combine adequate privacy features, international
interoperability and security in systems and services.
It should be stressed that work in one action line may co-operate with or build upon work in another action line. Furthermore, a single project may address work in several areas. For example, if a company is specialised in identification and authentication systems for networked organisations it might combine these two lines of work into one project. This flexibility aims to encourage more innovative and market-driven proposals.
For information on the IST Programme, please see http://www.cordis.lu/ist, the IST-programme helpdesk can be contacted at by email at ist@cec.eu.int.
2. The research and development projects of the fourth Framework Programme
in the area of creating trust and confidence in electronic commerce were
clustered together to will offer EU projects the possibility to participate
in an initiative that will bring the users and their requirements closer
to the projects. This “Trust and Confidence in Electronic Commerce”
cluster also acts as focal point for communication with, for example,
the European Internet Forum and CEN/ISSS. Clusters WWW-pages are at http://www.ispo.cec.be/ecommerce/clusters/trust.html
3. The EU-funded research project, ECLIP, is providing legal support to research and development projects on issues of law linked to electronic commerce. This has proven to be an effective method to link research and legal issues in the area of electronic commerce and as a by-product, the general awareness of the existing or recommended legal framework of electronic commerce has been increased.
ECLIP’s WWW-pages are at http://www.jura.uni-muenster.de/eclip/
The ECLIP (Electronic Commerce Legal Issues
Platform) project seeks to set up a platform on the legal issues of electronic
commerce with the objective of providing legal support to RTD projects
on any issue of law linked to electronic
commerce.
The ECLIP consortium consists of five academic research centres specialised
in information and technology law, each covering
a different part of the European Union. Each research centre will be in
charge of carrying out research and legal assistance in a specific field
of law with input from the other research
centres. The specific fields of law covered are: Intellectual Property
Rights, Taxation, Liability, User Protection, Contract Law, International
Private Law and Electronic Payments.
A primary objective of the ECLIP project is to provide any ESPRIT or
other European project whose scope deals with electronic commerce with
a legal assistance so as to ensure the
development of such RTD projects are made in accordance with the law.
In addition, the project organises workshops on different electronic commerce
legal issues.
4. The Commission hopes to have strong co-operation with national initiatives (UK electronic commerce agenda). This is needed in the area of research and development to support and contribute to EU-level and global research and development.
Dr. Ecommerce