The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in the Philippines will add an additional layer of security using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to secure data for government email and online transaction.

“Other than securing email and online transactions, PKI will also be an integral part of other applications such as payment gateway system, Narmis (National Archives and Records Management Information System), GovMail (Government Wide Email System) and other applications that will require secure communication and encryption,” said Rene Mendoza, Head of the PKI team of the DOST’s Integrated Government Philippines (iGovPhil) Project.

Through the use of dual encryption keys and the certificates digitally signed by a Certificate Authority, PKI ensures that transmitted data is authentic, valid and has not been tampered with in transit, she added.

The PKI deployment was one of the projects firstly announced at the opening of a four-day celebration of the ICT Month held at the DOST’s ICT Office in Diliman, Quezon City, early this month.

Securing data is a crucial need for the e-Government master Plan and iGovPhil Project. Data security through PKI will facilitate the development of services and applications to ensure the efficient delivery of public services, according to Mendoza.

In the future, digital certificate will be issued to private entity and individuals to ease transactions with government as well as to secure their personal electronic communication.

The Universal Multi-purpose ID (UMID) agencies that offer most of their services online will benefit from the PKI project. These agencies are Republic of the Philippines Social Security System (SSS). Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Home Development Mutual Fund (PagIBIG), National Statistics Office (NSO), and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).