The Hong Kong government will offer free digital certificates to
holders of new “smart” ID cards that will be introduced in the
territory next year, according to a report by news site CNet.com.
It appears that card holders will have the option to store the
e-Cert digital certificates on their ID cards and use them for
e-commerce transactions, including electronic banking.
According to the report, the e-Certs will be loaded on the ID
cards at the time of issue at the holder’s request, and will be
offered without charge for the first year. Under Hong Kong
legislation, digital signatures supported by the e-Cert have the
same legal status as handwritten signatures.
The smart cards will replace all existing 6.8 million Hong Kong
ID cards by 2007. The new ID cards, valid from June 2005, will
contain a memory chip that can also be programmed as a driving
licence and library card.
