The OISTE foundation and its Root of Trust for Cybersecurity celebrates its 20th anniversary liaising with the UN, the ICANN, governments and civil society

The OISTE foundation and its Root of Trust for Cybersecurity celebrates its 20^th anniversary liaising with the UN, the ICANN, governments and civil society

 Geneva, Switzerland- May 23, 2018- The International Secure Electronic Transactions Organisation, better known under the acronym OISTE (owing to its name in French: Organisation Internationale pour la Sécurité des Transactions Electroniques), was born in Geneva, Switzerland by the end of 1998. Registered under Swiss law as a not-for-profit foundation, OISTE has proprietary rights upon a cryptographic root operated by WISeKey SA under a duly defined legal framework.

Today, 20 years later, OISTE’s root of trust fulfils its original engagement of providing certified digital identities to individuals, businesses, governmental bodies and interconnected objects worldwide. To that effect OISTE has developed a Blockchain RoT technology that transform the way data is shared and value is transferred securely. The Root of Trust (RoT) serves as a common trust anchor, which is recognized by the operating system (OS) and applications, to ensure the authenticity, confidentiality and integrity of on-line transactions. With the Cryptographic Root of Trust embedded on the device, together with its own unique identity, can secure the interactions among objects and between objects and other entities.

At the heart of this strategy is the OISTE-WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust which has been actively used since 1999 by over 4 billion desktops, browsers, mobile devices, SSL certificates and Internet of Things’ devices. The OISTE WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust is ubiquitous and universal, and a pioneer in the identification of objects.

As governments and organizations continue to find new and innovative use cases for Root of Trust related blockchain, security must be kept top of mind. Only by establishing that each user is an authorized participant of a distributed ledger, and that each transaction submitted to the blockchain is digitally signed, can we advance our use of this transformative technology and reap the rewards it promises.

The OISTE Root of Trust is built based on the understanding that technology shall serve people and not vice versa.  All our codes, crypto-algorithms, chips, patents and products are developed following these principles:

1. Access. To fully reap the benefits of digitalization and technology, all humans must have quality access to connectivity. Governments shall be committed to the expansion of next-generation smart infrastructure, and establish principles of technological neutrality, through a simplified, market-oriented, and transparent regulatory environment, and through incentives to invest in less profitable areas, as well as by fostering investments for skill and capacity building. 

2. Privacy. Securing the privacy of every human being is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, personal data conveyed over the Internet or stored in devices connected to the Internet is owned and solely governed by the individual. It is paramount to protect all citizens in the all-digital age. AI systems should use tools, including anonymized data, de-identification, or aggregation to protect personally identifiable information whenever possible.

3. Security. An array of emerging digital threats may harm citizens. Users must trust that their personal and sensitive data is protected and handled appropriately. We strongly support the protection of the foundation of AI and other technologies, including source code, proprietary algorithms, and other intellectual property. We believe governments should avoid requiring companies to transfer or provide access to technology, source code, algorithms, or encryption keys as conditions for doing business. We encourage governments to use strong, globally-accepted and deployed cryptography and other security standards that enable trust and interoperability. We also promote voluntary information-sharing on cyberattacks or hacks to better enable consumer protection.

4. Consent. Respecting the authority and autonomy of every human being is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, personal digital data will not be used as research, rationale, enticement or commodity by any entity or individual, except with the explicit, well-informed, revocable consent of the individual owner of the data.

5. Ethics. Improving the human condition is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, a universal code of ethics reflecting the highest order of human values will govern the development, implementation, and use of technology.

6. Future-proof Skills. Advancing human faculties is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, to that end, the secure, approved, and accountable aggregation of personal information and resources to increase our individual abilities is a fundamental objective of technology.

7. Good. Advocating and innovating the greatest good for all humanity is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, technology, no matter how advanced, will never supersede the spiritual purposes or the moral rights and responsibilities of any human being anywhere. Technology will serve humanity’s needs.

8. Democracy. Democratizing human vision, ingenuity, and education is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, technology will remain humanity’s greatest collaborator but never represent humanity itself.

As milestones of its public role, OISTE effectively lobbied for the approval of a strong-worded resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age by the UN General Assembly in 2013; subscribed the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance drafted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Privacy International; endorsed the Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development proposed by Plan International; permanently collaborates with the International Telecommunications Union and the World Summit of the Information Society Forum and organised round tables at the World Economic Forum in Davos from 2014 to 2017  on topics such as “Addressing Identity Management, Privacy, Security and Trust in Digital Communication”; and “Searching new business models for digital identity management: empowering the end user”.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, – and in fulfilment of its commitment with the the UN Sustainable Development Goals – OISTE will facilitate a round-table on illicit trade during the Zermatt Summit (21 – 23 September 2018) and convene a public forum in Geneva later during the Fall on digital identity management, discussing different digital identity solutions available in the Swiss market.

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) recently approved OISTE’s quadrennial report.
  
About OISTE Foundation:

The OISTE Foundation has been working with the UN and other governmental and non-governmental international organizations since 1998. Today, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, target 16.9 – giving everyone a legal identity by 2030 – OISTE focuses on the challenge of harnessing digital identity for the global community.  OISTE holds special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC) and is an accredited member of the Non-commercial Users Stakeholders Group (NCSG) of ICANN as part of the Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns (NPOC) constituency. The OISTE Foundation endorses the “Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development.” oiste.org 

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