News & Events

11.02.2013 — The International Organization for Secure Electronic Transactions (OISTE.ORG) has been granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations during its 2013 regular session in New York.

Founded in 1998 in Geneva, Switzerland, OISTE was created with the objectives of promoting the use and adoption of international standards to secure electronic transactions. The OISTE Root Certification Authority (CA) is now available in billions of browsers and mobile micro browsers allowing global interoperability of trusted IDs which is fast becoming the foundation for secure transactions using digital identification for people, objects and content requiring it.

OISTE’s mission and vision is an Internet where users engage in online transactions and communications under systems of digital identity management that offer robust protection against fraud and theft, while protecting the fundamental right to privacy and neutrality. OISTE.ORG in cooperation with WISeKey has launched the “Right to Disappear Online” international sensibilisation campaign at the last World Economic Forum in Davos promoting the change on existing data protection legislations worldwide to ensure the protection of personal data in all its aspects. We believe that personal identifiable information needs to be strongly protected as this is the most sensitive information and allows the person to be tracked. The best way to do is to give the ownership of the personal data to the user and not to the service provider. If this is done, then the personal data is associated with the user Digital Identity which can then protect the transaction, as it belongs to the end user.

CNBC Video on the Right to Disappear Online: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/42655036#42655036

23.07.2012 — The GINI agenda was presented at a special session on identity management organised by ITU/OISTE at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), in Geneva on May 16th 2012

Eco to the WSIS thematic workshop on the EU project: “Global Identity Networking of Individuals — Support Action… Go to website >

03.07.2012 — Edited transcription of the round-table “Matching the speed of the running code: public awareness and digital identity management”

Workshop overview in PDF format. Download >

Access the full discussion in PDF format. Download >

16.05.2012 — OISTE.ORG Coordinates Thematic Workshop on Public Awareness and Digital Identity Awareness at the WSIS 2012 Forum

Geneva – The OISTE Foundation is participating in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum by coordinating a thematic workshop at this year’s event. The WSIS Forum 2012 is a summit for discussing how to help harness the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in order to build a common vision for a safe and inclusive information society.

The OISTE Foundation is committed to finding workable solutions to digital identity management as an essential ingredient of a knowledge society. OISTE  led the workshop titled “Matching the speed of the running code: public awareness and digital identity management”, intended to create awareness among Internet users about the risks of the present environment and the threats to individual privacy rights.

Confidence among users is at the core of OISTE’s Trust Model, striving for the legitimacy that will only be achieved by an informed consensus. As part of its compliance with the OISTE Foundation Trust Model, the foundation is bound to promote the security of electronic communications worldwide, ensuring compliance with regulations related to information protection. The company is a leading advocate of the protection of individual privacy rights online while enabling people to maximize use of the Internet.

Hosted by the ITU and organized jointly with UNESCO, UNCTAD, and UNDP, the WSIS Forum is the largest gathering of the “ICT for development” community.

Contact Jorge Restrepo
jorge.restrepo@oiste.org
+41 22 594 30 00

16.05.2012 — OISTE Position Statement

In line with its previous engagements at the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS), and building on the experience of the collaboration with the ITU within the initiative Electronic Commerce for Developing Countries (EC-DC); the International Secure Electronic Transactions Organization, OISTE, convened a workshop during the WSIS Forum 2012 under the title “Matching the speed of the running code: public awareness and digital identity management”.

By doing so, the OISTE Foundation contributes towards the implementation of ECOSOC’s resolution 2010/2 and the Declaration of Principles of the Geneva and Tunis summits which state that “Strengthening the trust framework, including information security and network security, authentication, privacy and consumer protection, is a prerequisite for the development of the Information Society and for building confidence among users of ICTs“.

Strengthening the trust framework

The OISTE foundation recognizes the importance of showing improvements in Agenda Action Lines 5, Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs and 7, the development of ICT applications to e-government, e-health, e-education, e-business, e-agriculture, but wishes to emphasize that this will not be possible unless all stakeholders succeed in introducing secure, interoperable and reliable methods of digital identity management.

Furthermore, the OISTE Foundation reminds all stakeholders that finding workable solutions to digital identity management is a precondition for establishing a global culture of cybersecurity.

In this sense, the OISTE Foundation stresses the importance of:

• Addressing the hard issues linked to the use of cryptography and Public Key Infrastructures (PKI), which constitute the foundation for providing robust and authoritative digital identities: i.e the lack of interoperability; the automatic recognition by the web-browser and the barriers linked to local law;
• Considering the convenience of establishing an International Clearing House that will deal with the problems listed above, upon which all stakeholders will confer the authority to create a secure Identity Ecosystem. The main function of this International Clearing House is promoting collaboration between the private and the public sector;
• Agreeing on the need of a binding international legal framework for the protection of privacy, personal identifiable information and personal data;
• Prioritizing the adoption of improved methods of digital identity management for effective child protection over the Internet;
• Encouraging the development of low assurance solutions to digital identity management and educating the public about when and where these solutions are appropriate.

02.05.2012 — Thematic Workshop on Digital Identity Management

Wednesday, 16th May, 11:00 – 12:45

Digital Identity Management and Internet Security “Matching the speed of the running code: public awareness and digital identity management”.

Session Description

The regular user of Internet is feeling unease about security issues. Besides, he/she is frequently inconvenienced to provide yet another user name, e-mail address and password to be able to obtain information, get services online or interact with other end users. However, the average cybercitizen ignores that these procedures form part of a vast and complex problem that is threatening the whole Internet architecture and that is closely linked to security: digital identity management.

The session is intended to provide insight into the elements that constitute the riddle of digital identity management and its effect upon cyber security. The aim is to learn lessons that can be applicable to creating awareness among Internet users of where they stand in these issues, enabling them to make informed choices among different technologies of digital identity management. Only by providing this necessary stimulus, will the market mature and the digital identity management solutions acquire the level of demand and legitimacy that is now lacking.

Contact: jorge.restrepo@oiste.org

More information: World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2012 website