ECMA Security Standards

The European Computer Manufacturers' Association is pursuing the following security related activities:

• TC29/TGS - Security Aspects of Documents

  is working on Security Extensions to ODA (ODA stands for Office Document Architecture and TC29 works on Document Architecture and Interchange).

• TC32/TG2 - Distributed Interactive Processing

  is working on a Threat/Attack Model for Transaction Processing.

• TC32/TG6 - Private Switching Networks

  is working on integrating cryptography into ISDN.

• TC32/TG9 - Security in Open Systems

  TG9 is currently working on an Authentication and Privilege Attribute Security Application and on a protocol to perform Security Association Management, i.e., a key management protocol. It is increasingly apparent that keys are one of the parameters that are necessary for cryptographic services. Thus, key management as a rule involves managing more than just keys.

  It should be noted that this is the ECMA Task Group that works on general aspects of Security and that it has already produced two rather influential documents:

  • ECMA Technical Report 46, Security in Open Systems - A Security Framework, and
  • ECMA Standard 138, Security in Open Systems - Data elements and Service Definitions.

  This committee includes several experts that are active in ISO and in CCITT. Therefore, both its past and its current work influence the standardization process.