Johannesburg, 17 May 2004
First National Bank Corporate, a leading provider of financial services to the South African market, has introduced digital certificates to further enhance the security measures provided with its BANKit online banking solution.
With security concerns at the top of mind of consumers using the Internet to access their accounts online, the organisation has created an Internet business banking system that provides a fully secure environment for companies to transact with absolute confidence.
Already secured by 128-bit encryption Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology, digital certificates bring an additional level of security to the service by providing every person who accesses the electronic banking system with an irrefutable digital identity, explains Andrew Mashanda, CEO of FNB Corporate Electronic Banking.
A digital certificate is a unique personal identifier that allows individuals within a company to be irrefutably linked to their transactions - a unique encryption device, the digital certificate is a software `key` issued to a user. "No two keys are ever identical, which is how a key can be used to identify its owner," Mashanda clarifies.
Companies like FNB, who wish to encrypt communications between themselves and their clients, receive the digital certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA). The CA issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the applicant`s public key and a variety of other identification information. The CA makes its own public key readily available through the Internet.
The recipient of an encrypted message uses the CA`s public key to decode the digital certificate attached to the message, verifies it as issued by the CA and then obtains the sender`s public key and identification information held within the certificate. With this information, the recipient can send an encrypted reply.
Keys always work in pairs, one called the private key, and the other called the public key. What a public key encrypts, only the corresponding private key can decrypt, and vice versa.
"Digital certificates automate the process of distributing public keys and exchanging secure information. When a digital certificate is installed on the computer of an operator who is to access the BANKit system, that computer is given its own private key. Its matching public key is freely available as part of the digital certificate posted on your computer," Mashanda explains.
"The BANKit system uses your public key to validate your identity and to encrypt the information it wants to share with you using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology. Only your private key can decrypt this information, so it remains secure from interception or tampering while travelling across the Internet," he continues.
"As one of the most secure means of exchanging information over a public network, digital certificates are incredibly reliable and secure," he concludes.
Digital certificates are part and parcel of the BANKit package and current BANKit clients are already reaping the benefits of this application. If you would like further information on the basket of electronic banking services, please contact your nearest FNB Branch or BANKit call centre on 0860 101 207 or bankit@directcontact.co.za.
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