Introduction

The E-government Unit has directed the Secure Electronic Environment (S.E.E.) project to scope the development of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for use among NZ government agencies. This will ensure that State sector agencies that decide to adopt Public Key Technology (PKT) for any purpose do so in a consistent manner governed by clear Government policy.

A logical way to address the uncertainties and risks involved in adopting PKI technology in the government is to establish and enforce a government wide management framework to guide the development and deployment of PKIs by agencies. Without such a framework, agencies risk building and buying systems that are not interoperable and thus may require costly, complex solutions to interact with a government wide PKI.