Seven companies have failed to make it to the Competition Authority of Kenya’s (CA) list of accredited Electronic Certification Service Provider (E-CSP).
- •(E-CSP) is an entity licensed to issue, verify, store, renew, suspend and revoke digital certificates to subscribers in a secure manner.
- •It is only upon being accredited by the Authority that an E-CSP can begin issuing digital certificates to customers.
- •Accreditation is achieved by a licensed E-CSP by undergoing and passing an initial regulatory compliance audit conducted by the Authority within one year of the grant of an E-CSP license to an entity.
While Geda Limited, Tendaworld and the Information and Communication Technology Authority (ICT Authority) are accredited to offer the services, CMCOM Kenya Limited, Idently systems, Digicheti, Hakisha, Kensign, Techedge and Kashia Services limited are not licensed to issue, verify, store, renew, suspend and revoke digital certificates to subscribers in a secure manner.
During its meeting on 14th March 2024, the National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NC4) made a determination and directed that all systems that are designated as critical information infrastructure must adopt and only use digital certificates, digital certification and PKI services from Electronic Certification Service Providers (E-CSPs) who have been both licensed and accredited by the Communications Authority of Kenya.
Communications Authority of Kenya’s Director General David Mugonyi noted that the electronic certificates is a critical element for securing Kenya’s cyber space as it assures the safety and integrity of electronic transactions and online services, thereby fostering the development of electronic commerce, and promoting and facilitating the efficient delivery of public services through digital platforms.
The move will make it difficult to forge documents such as contracts, cheques and also enable busy executives to sign paper work from wherever they are across the world.
The electronic certification licenses issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) will enable ICT Authority to provide digital signature for e-government services.
“Trust is the foundation of every ecosystem and every market. To achieve our shared ambition for the digital transformation of our economy, it is paramount to secure our cyber space and put in place the framework that will facilitate the secure transfer of information required for e-commerce, internet banking and many other applications,” said David Mugonyi,, at the second National Public Key Infrastructure Forum.
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