E-minister forces industry to get on with encryption proposals

UK industry is being hurried to come up with a solution to establish a voluntary licensing scheme for providers of cryptography services as part of the forthcoming Electronic Communications Bill.

Last week representatives from the Alliance for Electronic Business (AEB) met with e-minister Patricia Hewitt about the progress industry has made towards a voluntary scheme for trusted service providers (TSPs) to protect interests of consumers and service providers, covering issues such as encryption services, electronic signatures and certification.

A source close to the FEI said that "a firecracker had been put under their butts" and that Hewitt wants to see something concrete before the Queen's Speech on 17 November.

"She's getting twitchy," the source added.

If an industry-led scheme fails, the government will take over, implementing a statutorily backed scheme, Hewitt has warned, according to sources. Over the last year the government was forced to back down from considering a mandatory key escrow policy, passing the buck to interested parties among the IT and business community to come up with a voluntary scheme.

A spokesperson for the Department of Trade and Industry said of the recent meeting, "the need for some expediency was explained so that it's possible to move forward."

She added: "Guidelines must be established for when something is needed to be seen. At some point more details of the scheme and timescales are necessary."

Anthony Parish, director general of the Federation of the Electronics Industry, who attended the meeting, said: "The meeting between the AEB and Patricia Hewitt was the first we had with her. She may have been nervous but we're not. We're meeting our commitments. We're on track."

He said that the government wants to "make certain that the self-regulatory scheme is on schedule and has enough evidence to proceed with the Bill."

"They will see something in the next few days," he added. "We have a good working relationship with the DTi and the Home Office. I'm a lot more positive than I was months ago that the private sector scheme will succeed."

Barbara Walker, head of information policy at the CBI, said: "Self-regulation isn't done overnight. It must be rigorous."