LankaClear upgrades digital certificate infrastructure for future growth

LankaClear, the operator of LankaPay - Sri Lanka’s national payment network, recently held the Root Key Ceremony of its security arm – LankaSign, the only commercially operating PKI based Certification Service Provider (CSP) in the country. 

In keeping with the latest international security standards and technology (ie Web trust 2.0), LankaSign upgraded its systems and the recently concluded root key ceremony was a key activity of this exercise. LankaSign is now capable of issuing digital certificates in real time to any automated system including Android, iOS and other Smart mobile devices.

The ceremony had representation of a panel of high profile delegates. 
Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Secretary Wasantha Deshapriya congratulating on the successful completion of ‘LankaSign’ Root Key Ceremony, underscored the significance of the event from a holistic perspective. 

“With the rise of cyber security threats, economies around the world have become increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. At the same time, as we are moving towards a digital economy, we are witnessing an increase in the number of transactions taking place via electronic platforms.  Therefore, in order to build public trust and confidence on electronic transactions, digital security solutions such as ‘LankaSign’ have a pivotal role to play.  Successful conclusion of LankaSign Root Key Ceremony in line with the international standards is indeed commendable and the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure is pleased to be a witness to this exercise.”

A root key ceremony is a procedure where a unique pair of public and private root keys are generated in a secure manner in the presence of individuals as key witnesses who represent various industries.  It is a statutory requirement where the entire system architecture of a CSP is reviewed by a panel of experts to ensure its integrity and good governance. The above witnesses to this ceremony was able to observe the stringent security procedures that have been put in place by LankaSign adhering to international standards and utilizing a world class technology back-end.

LankaClear Chairman Anil Amarasuriya stated, “As Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network, we find security to be fundamental to all our operations. The root key ceremony of LankaSign is of great significance as it gives an independent review and assurance of the robustness of our public key infrastructure, which has a substantial impact on the stability of entire banking and financial system. Therefore, we are indeed proud to have successfully completed this exercise which repose greater confidence on our stakeholders on our services”

Set up in 2009 in accordance of the Electronic Transactions Act No. 19 of 2006, LankaSign plays a pivotal role in catering to the public key infrastructure (PKI) requirements of the banking and financial sector in Sri Lanka.  In 2015, LankaSign became the first CSP to be certified with the ISO 27001:2013 standard.  Currently, it caters to PKI requirements of 44 banking and financial sector organizations including the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, over 100 import and export organizations via Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber of Exporters as well as the Colombo Stock Exchange with LankaSign Digital Certificates.