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FASTeTEN enjoys successful mid-project workshop

The FASTeTEN project held its mid-term workshop at the Palais des Arts et des Congrès, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris on 15 October. The event was attended by around 25 eGovernment professionals from countries as diverse as Belgium, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom.

FASTeTEN is an eTEN-supported project to pilot the French-developed FAST bundle of services for secure document exchange in different European contexts. FAST stands for Fournisseur d’Accès Sécurisés Transactionnels, or Fully Automated Secured Transactions. FAST has been successfully tested in France, but has the potential to offer considerable benefits to other European public administrations.

FASTeTEN is conducting pilot European deployments of FAST in educational services in Sheffield, UK, and in eProcurement in Valencia, Spain.

Opening words

The event was opened by Baudouin de Sonis, director of e-Forum, which is a partner in FASTeTEN. The secure infrastructure workshop was an ePractice branded event, and de Sonis gave an introduction to the ePractice “eCommunity system,” which he commented was a “mine of information,” and previewed forthcoming ePractice workshops on eInclusion, eGovernment services to business, and administrative burdens.

Archiving considerations

Charles du Boullay, CEO of Arkineo, spoke about archiving of electronic documents as a crucial aspect of secure electronic document exchange, which is the focus of the FASTeTEN project. Archiving of documents might be legally required for up to 30 years, du Boullay said, and organisations had to be able to demonstrate that archived material had not been modified. M. du Boullay called the switch to electronic documentation, including emails and contracts, a “revolution,” with a pressing need to secure information that has a legal impact in many cases (for example, electronic documentation used as evidence).

Storage of electronic data might be straightforward, but administrations need systems and tools for securing, protecting and retrieving the stored information. A single European electronic signature would help in this respect, M. du Boullay said. He posed three key questions about electronic archiving:

- How can we be confident about it?
- How can compliance with European Union directives be ensured, relating to the protection of integrity of documents, jurisdictions and standards?
- How can the validity of foreign documents be checked in cross-border situations?

FASTeTEN and secure infrastructure

Sebastien Pujadas of CDC FAST, the developer of the FAST bundle of services for secure electronic document exchange, gave an overview of FAST and how the FASTeTEN project can contribute to European eGovernment objectives by offering a flexible system for electronic document management. FAST is based on the premise that electronic documents should have the same value as paper documents and provide long-term electronic evidence.

FAST responds to a number of needs:

- Data can be sensitive and needs high level security
- Data must also be authentic, with appropriate electronic certification
- Security of data exchange must be guaranteed with proofs of authenticity and access for only authorised people

M. Pujadas added that because of the need for long-term data storage, interoperability and standards need to be future-proofed. XML is the standard format used for data via FAST, but PDF and TIFF can also be supported, though these can result in larger image sizes.

FAST is based on a seven-step process:

- Authentication and access control to ensure the issuer has a right to issue data
- Signature validation
- Time-stamping
- Transmission to recipient
- Creation of proof
- Archiving
- Indexing

FAST is flexible so for archiving, for example, it can be adapted to different systems. This is also the case with certification, with no problems so far with certificates that do not work with the FAST platform. The flexibility of FAST has been shown in the pilot FASTeTEN deployments in Sheffield and Valencia. In the former, for educational services, third parties execute transactions through the FAST platform, while in the latter, FAST has been integrated with the Valencia eProcurement platform, and with some existing services, such as timestamping and archiving.

Philippe Yon, also of CDC FAST, underlined the flexibility of FAST by describing its wide range of potential uses, from public accounting, to exchange of data related to civil status (marriage certificates for example), to urban planning permissions, to education, health and public procurement documentation. In France, where it was developed, FAST is used by 25 conseils générale, and by 1200 municipalities. The FASTeTEN project is demonstrating the adaptability of the bundle of services in other European contexts, with the pilot deployments in Spain and the UK.

FASTeTEN in the UK

In the UK, FASTeTEN has been piloted in Sheffield, in a system allowing parents to send permissions relating to their children’s education electronically to schools. The pilot deployment focuses on relatively simple permissions, such as for attending events or school trip, but Shaun Topham of Sheffield City Council said there were many other wider applications in education, where flows of information happen on three levels: between parents and schools, between schools and local education authorities, and between education authorities and government ministries.

The system had potential value in universities, and for public examinations (such as transmission of marked exam papers and sending of exam results), Mr Topham said. In Sheffield, the system interfaces have been designed and the workflow created, the software has been installed, and information flows are being tested. Next steps include monitoring and evaluation of FAST in Sheffield. The UK has the idea of assigning each student with a ’unique learner number,’ which will link participants in the education process, and it is foreseen that FAST could play a role in this. Sheffield also has a plan to build a ’school of the future,’ in which ICT support will be integral - FAST could play a role in this. Another possibility raised by Mr Topham was a role for mutual recognition of university identity cards from different countries, and these cards as an access token for a pan-European FAST system, through which relevant information could be exchanged.

FASTeTEN in Spain

Sebastien Pujadas gave an update of the FASTeTEN deployment in Valencia. Here, FAST is used as a ’glue’ to hold together various aspects of the eProcurement system. Valencia is a pioneering EU region in terms of eProcurement, and is working to security standards for public sector contracts set out in Spanish legislation. Integration of FAST with Valencia’s eProcurement platform was completed in August 2008, and the system is currently being tested. Application testing and deployment will take place in 2009. In Valencia, trust services (time stamping, validation and archiving) are provided by the regional certification authority, and it has been necessary to integrate FAST with the requirements of this.

Entering the test phase

Summing up the progress of the FASTeTEN project, Jean-Francois Navarre of the Conseil Générale des Yvelines said that the detailed specifications of the pilot deployments were completed and “we are now moving on and entering the test phase,” with actual implementation in 2009.

The aim of FASTeTEN is to prove the flexibility of FAST and that such systems can work in a pan-European context, and across different sectors, such as education and eProcurement. FASTeTEN should prove the interoperability of FAST, M. Navarre said. He also noted that FASTeTEN is being tracked by a potential deployers’ group, consisting of public authorities from Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Malta. This group is studying potential legal barriers to deployment of FAST. The project is also developing a business plan for pan-EU deployment once the pilot deployments have been evaluated. The ultimate outcome will be technical findings, but accompanied by a plan showing the economic and business possibilities, M. Navarre said.

For more information, visit the FASTeTEN project website.

The FASTeTEN project held its mid-term workshop at the Palais des Arts et des Congrès, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris on 15 October. The event was attended by around 25 eGovernment professionals from countries as diverse as Belgium, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom.

FASTeTEN is an eTEN-supported project to pilot the French-developed FAST bundle of services for secure document exchange in different European contexts. FAST stands for Fournisseur d’Accès Sécurisés Transactionnels, or Fully Automated Secured Transactions. FAST has been successfully tested in France, but has the potential to offer considerable benefits to other European public administrations.

FASTeTEN is conducting pilot European deployments of FAST in educational services in Sheffield, UK, and in eProcurement in Valencia, Spain.

Opening words

The event was opened by Baudouin de Sonis, director of e-Forum, which is a partner in FASTeTEN. The secure infrastructure workshop was an ePractice branded event, and de Sonis gave an introduction to the ePractice “eCommunity system,” which he commented was a “mine of information,” and previewed forthcoming ePractice workshops on eInclusion, eGovernment services to business, and administrative burdens.

Archiving considerations

Charles du Boullay, CEO of Arkineo, spoke about archiving of electronic documents as a crucial aspect of secure electronic document exchange, which is the focus of the FASTeTEN project. Archiving of documents might be legally required for up to 30 years, du Boullay said, and organisations had to be able to demonstrate that archived material had not been modified. M. du Boullay called the switch to electronic documentation, including emails and contracts, a “revolution,” with a pressing need to secure information that has a legal impact in many cases (for example, electronic documentation used as evidence).

Storage of electronic data might be straightforward, but administrations need systems and tools for securing, protecting and retrieving the stored information. A single European electronic signature would help in this respect, M. du Boullay said. He posed three key questions about electronic archiving:

- How can we be confident about it?
- How can compliance with European Union directives be ensured, relating to the protection of integrity of documents, jurisdictions and standards?
- How can the validity of foreign documents be checked in cross-border situations?

FASTeTEN and secure infrastructure

Sebastien Pujadas of CDC FAST, the developer of the FAST bundle of services for secure electronic document exchange, gave an overview of FAST and how the FASTeTEN project can contribute to European eGovernment objectives by offering a flexible system for electronic document management. FAST is based on the premise that electronic documents should have the same value as paper documents and provide long-term electronic evidence.

FAST responds to a number of needs:

- Data can be sensitive and needs high level security
- Data must also be authentic, with appropriate electronic certification
- Security of data exchange must be guaranteed with proofs of authenticity and access for only authorised people

M. Pujadas added that because of the need for long-term data storage, interoperability and standards need to be future-proofed. XML is the standard format used for data via FAST, but PDF and TIFF can also be supported, though these can result in larger image sizes.

FAST is based on a seven-step process:

- Authentication and access control to ensure the issuer has a right to issue data
- Signature validation
- Time-stamping
- Transmission to recipient
- Creation of proof
- Archiving
- Indexing

FAST is flexible so for archiving, for example, it can be adapted to different systems. This is also the case with certification, with no problems so far with certificates that do not work with the FAST platform. The flexibility of FAST has been shown in the pilot FASTeTEN deployments in Sheffield and Valencia. In the former, for educational services, third parties execute transactions through the FAST platform, while in the latter, FAST has been integrated with the Valencia eProcurement platform, and with some existing services, such as timestamping and archiving.

Philippe Yon, also of CDC FAST, underlined the flexibility of FAST by describing its wide range of potential uses, from public accounting, to exchange of data related to civil status (marriage certificates for example), to urban planning permissions, to education, health and public procurement documentation. In France, where it was developed, FAST is used by 25 conseils générale, and by 1200 municipalities. The FASTeTEN project is demonstrating the adaptability of the bundle of services in other European contexts, with the pilot deployments in Spain and the UK.

FASTeTEN in the UK

In the UK, FASTeTEN has been piloted in Sheffield, in a system allowing parents to send permissions relating to their children’s education electronically to schools. The pilot deployment focuses on relatively simple permissions, such as for attending events or school trip, but Shaun Topham of Sheffield City Council said there were many other wider applications in education, where flows of information happen on three levels: between parents and schools, between schools and local education authorities, and between education authorities and government ministries.

The system had potential value in universities, and for public examinations (such as transmission of marked exam papers and sending of exam results), Mr Topham said. In Sheffield, the system interfaces have been designed and the workflow created, the software has been installed, and information flows are being tested. Next steps include monitoring and evaluation of FAST in Sheffield. The UK has the idea of assigning each student with a ’unique learner number,’ which will link participants in the education process, and it is foreseen that FAST could play a role in this. Sheffield also has a plan to build a ’school of the future,’ in which ICT support will be integral - FAST could play a role in this. Another possibility raised by Mr Topham was a role for mutual recognition of university identity cards from different countries, and these cards as an access token for a pan-European FAST system, through which relevant information could be exchanged.

FASTeTEN in Spain

Sebastien Pujadas gave an update of the FASTeTEN deployment in Valencia. Here, FAST is used as a ’glue’ to hold together various aspects of the eProcurement system. Valencia is a pioneering EU region in terms of eProcurement, and is working to security standards for public sector contracts set out in Spanish legislation. Integration of FAST with Valencia’s eProcurement platform was completed in August 2008, and the system is currently being tested. Application testing and deployment will take place in 2009. In Valencia, trust services (time stamping, validation and archiving) are provided by the regional certification authority, and it has been necessary to integrate FAST with the requirements of this.

Entering the test phase

Summing up the progress of the FASTeTEN project, Jean-Francois Navarre of the Conseil Générale des Yvelines said that the detailed specifications of the pilot deployments were completed and “we are now moving on and entering the test phase,” with actual implementation in 2009.

The aim of FASTeTEN is to prove the flexibility of FAST and that such systems can work in a pan-European context, and across different sectors, such as education and eProcurement. FASTeTEN should prove the interoperability of FAST, M. Navarre said. He also noted that FASTeTEN is being tracked by a potential deployers’ group, consisting of public authorities from Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Malta. This group is studying potential legal barriers to deployment of FAST. The project is also developing a business plan for pan-EU deployment once the pilot deployments have been evaluated. The ultimate outcome will be technical findings, but accompanied by a plan showing the economic and business possibilities, M. Navarre said.

For more information, visit the FASTeTEN project website.

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