VeriSign to provide services for US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

📅 April 11, 2001 - A leading provider of Internet infrastructure services VeriSign Inc. (verisign.com) announced on Wednesday that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission had chosen to use VeriSign's managed digital certificate services in creating a secure e-filing system through which to conduct official agency business.

The filing system will allow NRC nuclear reactor licensees and other customers to securely submit digitally signed regulatory documents to the NRC via the Internet. The new program will also assist the NRC in becoming among the first Federal agencies to comply with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, which requires that all Executive-branch Federal agencies make all of their forms available online and accept them with the appropriate electronic signatures by October 2003.
The NRC says that making its filing system available online has allowed the agency to provide faster and more cost-effective services to its licensees. The agency added that the solution gives the NRC control over issuing certificates, without having to build and maintain the infrastructure.
The e-filing system set up for the NRC uses VeriSign's managed digital certificate services in combination with the Internet Commerce System from PureEdge Solutions to create a secure online filing environment. The Internet Commerce System lets filers use a master XML cover form to attach almost any kind of document, digitally sign both documents, and submit them securely to the NRC Web server, protected with a VeriSign Web server digital certificate. The NRC can use the certificate to authenticate the documents, assuring the identity of the sender, and ensuring that the documents have not been changed.
According to VeriSign, the ability to sign and submit their documentation electronically will help to speed up the filing process for NRC licensees and reduce the amount of work involved, without compromising the security of the documents.