With a view to the worry about the security of online banking amongst the public, China Financial Certification Authority (CFCA) General Manager Li Xiaofeng said at the online banking summit held in Shanghai yesterday that the digital certificate technology introduced by CFCA can ensure the security of online transactions.

CFCA is a security certification institution approved by the People's Bank of China and China's Information Security Administration. Its digital certificate technology will become one of the infrastructures to guarantee China's financial security.

Li said that security of online banking can be divided into two aspects. The first is the security of physical environment and the other is the security of transaction information. At present, all Chinese online banks have adopted means to ensure security of physical environment, such as firewall, anti-virus products and strict security management system. The most concerned issue for the Chinese masses is the secrecy and security of personal financial information.

Chinese commercial banks offering online services have already adopted, one after another, CFCA's digital certificate technology to guarantee the security of online financial services.

According to Li Xiaofeng, digital certificate is a digital document that is signed by an authoritative, reliable and candid third-party certification institution and includes information about the owner's identity and password. Such document provides bank users with services in the internet environment, encompassing identification, encoding and decoding information, integrality of data and undeniability.

Li said that should a user' capital be stolen after using CFCA's digital certificate to made online transaction, CFCA will compensate. Currently, the highest compensation for individuals is 20,000 yuan (US$2,460) and that for enterprises is 800,000 yuan.
 
(Chinanews.cn November 16, 2005)