NOAA Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Pilot Project

Richard F. James
Office of Satellite Operations, NESDIS

The NOAA PKI Working Group has started a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) pilot for a total of about 100 users. One part will use an in-house Certification Authority (CA), and will be implemented under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between NOAA and SETECS Corp. The other part will be similar but will use an outsourced (commercial) CA service. Both parts will begin with secure email, and both will expand to include one or more additional applications such as secure web and PKI-enabled forms. Assurance levels are as defined by the Federal PKI. Participation includes all major NOAA organizations, and field sites as well as HQ.

The project is scheduled for 12 months, beginning July 1, 2002 and ending September 30, 2003. The activities to date have been limited to volunteered time and equipment. No funds have been spent, since there is no funding for the project. Use of a CRADA provides software and expertise free of charge to the project.

This PKI pilot will also support other work in NOAA for telecommuting. In addition, PKI is the appropriate technology for those eGov-related transactions where security is important and where a digital signature is necessary. This pilot will give us a basis in our own experience for the strategic decision we’ll have to make between an in-house CA and an outsourced CA service, for the NOAA-level CA. This pilot will also give us some hands-on education of the implementers and the users, in the several Line Offices, to guide us in other decisions.