The Kenya ICT Board yesterday organised a stakeholder forum to discuss the establishment of a national Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) project that will secure the electronic transactions in the country.
All the stakeholders from the private and public sectors agreed it was an important step, especially in countering cyber fraud.
Among the discussions that followed was the ownership of the agency that would oversee the process setting up of the PKI.
Some delegates were of the view that the bureaucracy in government could lead to slow acquisition of technology, as those for a fully owned government agency argued that the nature of information held was sensitive.
Looking at some of the roles of the agency the administrative body will conduct the identification to issue certificates to public servants and citizens as well as provide the certificate management support for the certificates issued.
Those for Public Private Ownership argue that with the technological evolution seen in the world the agency should be protected from slowness in government procurement, an issue that led to the separation of the Kenya Network information Center (KENIC) from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).
However those against the private sector inclusion argue it will be hard to decide on which investors should be allowed to invest and which to stop with those that get the green light a danger against their competitors.
The private sector players could also have access to sensitive government inventories such as those held by KRA.
The project pilot is set for October this year.
