TKK accredits Datakom Austria GmbH - Two new certification-services in Austria

Datakom - Qualified certificates for secure electronic signatures - A-Trust - Qualified certificates for basic electronic signature

Press release dated 18 December 2001

In its session on December 17, 2001, the Telekom-Control Commission accredited Datakom Austria GmbH as the first Austrian provider of certification-services under §17 of the Austrian Signature Act (SigG). A-Trust notified the supervisory authority of establishing its certification-service on December 15, 2001.

In its capacity as supervisory authority for electronic signatures, the Telekom-Control Commission is responsible for accrediting and supervising certification-service-providers. Accreditation by TKK is available by application only to providers of secure electronic signature services. In the case of basic electronic signatures, it is only necessary to notify the supervisory authority of establishing a certification-service.

Datakom - Certificates for secure electronic signatures

Now that it has been accredited, Datakom Austria is now authorized to issue qualified certificates for secure electronic signatures. On the basis of adherence to applicable security standards (secure viewer), such signatures are legally equivalent to handwritten signatures. Datakom Austria provides customers of this certification-service with a smart card which has been evaluated and certified in accordance with the Austrian Signature Ordinance (SigV).

A-Trust - Certificates for basic signatures

On December 15, 2001, A-Trust (A-Trust Gesellschaft für Sicherheitssysteme im elektronischen Datenverkehr GmbH) began providing its "trust|sign" certification service. The smart cards issued by A-Trust also fulfill the requirements of the Austrian Signature Ordinance and have been evaluated and certified to be secure. In its service, A-Trust issues qualified certificates for basic signatures, which, however, are not legally equivalent to a handwritten signature.

Proper notification of certification-services

A-Trust notified the supervisory authority for electronic signatures (TKK) of its certification-service in accordance with applicable regulations. In its initial review, TKK found no need for supervisory measures at present. The review procedure, however, has not yet been completed.

Additional information can be found at http://www.signatur.rtr.at