Encryption and the law:
The need for a legal regulatory framework for Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

Yee Fen Lim, Faculty of Law
Macquarie University

Tuesday 10 August 2004

1:00 to 2:00 pm, including 15-20 minutes for questions

Room 1201 (12th floor) (NB: NOT 1024 as previously advertised!)
UNSW Law Faculty, Library stage II Tower
Map: http://www.unsw.edu.au/maps/kensington.pdf
Enter via Gate 11 Botany St Randwick.

Abstract:

Transaction security is emerging as a critical issue for the success of electronic banking, e-commerce and the delivery of other services over the Internet, as well as for the development of trust in the privacy of sensitive interactions. Encryption is the foundation for much of this security.

But key tools like digital signatures remain under-used in Australia for a number of reasons, including the lack of a legal regulatory framework for Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).

This talk explores legal problems around encryption and PKI, and asks whether accreditation, licensing and liability need to be resolved through regulation, or the patchwork of private and public law which may emerge by default.

Powerpoint presentation.

Yee Fen is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Macquarie University where she teaches Cyberspace Law and Intellectual Property Law to LLB students. Prior to that, she taught at the University of Sydney and UNSW.

Yee Fen is a Research Associate of the Baker & McKenzie Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre, and a member of the editorial bodies of the Internet Law Bulletin and Macquarie Law Journal. She holds a double degree in computer science and law and is currently an Associate at Galexia Consulting. She has published widely, including in Australian Law Journal and International Review of Law, Computers & Technology. Her book, Cyberspace Law: Commentaries and Materials (Oxford University Press 2002) has been adopted by a number of universities in Australia and overseas.

Yee Fen is a Fellow and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Asia Pacific Technology Law & Policy (CAPTEL), based at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, a multi-disciplinary regional think-tank and research centre focussing on technology law and policy issues.