A General Quality Classification System for eIDs and e-Signatures

Abstract

The PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line) project is a large scale pilot under the CIP programme of the EU, exploring electronic public procurement in a unified European market. Interoperability of electronic signatures across borders is identified as a major obstacle to cross-border procurement. PEPPOL suggests specify-ing signature acceptance criteria in the form of signature policies that must be transparent and non-discriminatory. Validation solutions must then not only assess signature correctness but also signature policy adherence. This paper addresses perhaps the most important topic of a signature policy: Quality of eIDs and e-signatures. Discrete levels are suggested for: eID quality, assurance level for this quality, and for cryptographic quality of signatures.KeywordsElectronic SignatureSignature PolicyProcurement ProcessPolicy RequirementSimilar StandardThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.