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11 J.L. & Inf. Sci. 38 (2000-2001)
An Introduction to Gatekeeper: The Government's Public Key Infrastructure

handle is hein.journals/jlinfos11 and id is 38 raw text is: An Introduction to Gatekeeper: the Government's Public Key Infrastructure KATE BOYLE* Abstract Gatekeeper is a world leading project that deals with security issues related to electronic transactions. This Gatekeeper strategy could eventually be a national scheme. The following is a sketch of the Gatekeeper project. It includes a basic overview of the PKI and some legal issues arising from the use of Gatekeeper for online transactions. 1. Introduction Increasingly the Internet is becoming a part of our daily lives. The potential benefits that e-transactions have for all of us, as individuals as well as businesses, is no longer a theory, but is a very real part of our reality. 'E-commerce' or 'e-transactions' are terms in common usage that are generally understood.1 Both these terms have become familiar to many Australians because of their use of the Internet: In May 1998 17.9 per cent of households had Internet access. This percentage had increased to 25.1 per cent in November 1999. In the 12 months to November 1998, 286,000 Australian adults purchased or ordered goods over the Internet. In the 12 months to November 1999, this number increased to 802,000.2 However, there are several perceived impediment to reliable e- transactions. These include user concerns regarding security, privacy and the legal rights and obligations surrounding e-transactions. The Gatekeeper strategy, released in May 1998, is the government's response to many security issues, and also contributes to privacy protection and to legal assurance of electronic transactions such as the evidentiary value of electronic transactions. Kate Boyle works in the Government Public Key Infrastructure Branch of the National Office for the Information Economy in Canberra. The GPKI Branch is responsible for the implementation of the Gatekeeper Strategy. Kate's responsibilities involves considering legal issues surrounding Gatekeeper including the contractual process surrounding Gatekeeper Accreditation and wider legal issues arising from electronic transactions and PKI. 1 An 'e-transaction' is an online transaction that may not have any direct financial implications. E-commerce is usually used to describe transactions involving a financial transfer. 2 Source: ABS Use of Internet by Householders (Cat. No. 8147.0) November 1998, November 1999.

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