Thanks to the state’s determined policy, Tunisia was among the first countries to enact a law on e-commerce. Law no. 2000-83 of 9 August 2000 on e-trade and exchange defined an digital certificate and an digital signature,
encouraging a climate that would be favourable to the development of e-commerce and trade, and enabled the creation of a National Agency of Digital Certification (the ANCE), the mother authority for digital certification in Tunisia, to constitute the highest level of confidence in the field of digital certification and of security of e-trade and transactions.
The main task of the ANCE (National Agency of Digital Certification) is to guarantee the security of electronic exchanges in various fields, such as e-commerce, e-government, e-banking, e-finance, e-teaching and e-health. Its role is to guarantee the security of payment transactions and authenticate the various actors.
In other words, any person making a payment operation on a site that is security guaranteed by a certificate from the National Agency of Digital Certification is sure that they are working with a reliable site and that all the data they communicate are secure. The ANCE’s main other assignments are:
- Signing mutual recognition agreements with foreign Certification Authorities,
- Managing electronic certificates (the generation, revocation, publication and conservation of certificates),
- Granting permits to act as electronic certification service provider,
- Defining the technical features of the signing and signature verification arrangements,
- The approval of encrypting systems.
The ANCE basically delivers two kinds of digital certificate:
Signature certificate: this enables a person’s identity to be associated with a public key. It can be used to sign and encrypt electronic messages as well as to authenticate oneself in a security guaranteed session, for example, when consulting one’s bank account (distance tax statement, CNSS, CNRPS, net CCP, customs declaration, etc.)
Server certificate: this associates the identity of a web server to a public key. It enables exchanges between a server and its clients to be made secure when a security guaranteed session is established, for example for an on-line payment or purchase on a market site.
In 2010, Tunisia achieved a better ranking at international level, according to the Davos 2009-2010 Report, which stated that the index of server certificates was 1.3 per million inhabitants, and the Agency has promised to further develop this index.
Main partnerships in the field of digital certification:
- A partnership agreement was signed on 14 March 2009 with the Information Technologies Authority in the Sultanate of Oman, in order to exchange experience in the field of digital signature and encrypting techniques, with a view to achieving mutual recognition,
- A partnership agreement was signed with SG, South Korea’s certification authority, on 23 November 2009, in order to exchange experience in the field of digital certification and digital signature.
To develop partnership frameworks with similar international institutions, the ANCE will work in 2010 on:
- A partnership agreement with similar European institutions to exchange experience in the field of e-signature and encrypting techniques, with a view to achieving mutual recognition between ANCE and these institutions,
- A partnership agreement with the Algerian postal and telecommunications regulatory authority, the mother authority for Algerian electronic certification, in order to help it set up an electronic certification system in a first stage and to achieve mutual recognition in a second stage,
- A partnership agreement with the BCEAO African banking group to enhance the exchange of experience and work on mutual recognition by both parties.
