A Framework for Secure Digital Administration
This addresses the need for secure and efficient digital administration for public services, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing technologies like XML and smartcards.
The paper tackles the problem of improving efficiency and service quality in public administration by proposing an XML-based document exchange system that integrates e-doc management and secure digital signing, with a real-world application described.
The efficiency and service quality in public administration can be improved by using electronic documents (or e-docs) and digital signature to speed up their activity and at the same time to better satisfy customer needs. This paper presents an XML-based document exchange system that integrates a platform for the management (creation, search, storage) of e-docs and a secure trustworthy environment for digitally signing e-docs. The framework provides security services, like privacy, authorization, authentication and non-repudiation. Possibly a mobile terminal equipped with a smartcard reader and integrating WYSIWYS features could be used for viewing and signing e-docs. The proposed system can be easily integrated with the infrastructure (e.g. database system) already in use at each administration site. It is described also the use of the system in a real world service.