Main News
ETSI Announces First Specification for Smart Contracts
ETSI has just released GS PDL 011 the first in a series of specifications that are concerned with the implementation of permissioned distributed ledgers (PDL). This and following specifications will help with the realization of the numerous operational and security advantages of a decentralized approach to the recording of transactions, while simultaneously being both inexpensive to perform and inherently scalable.
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ETSI’s industry specification group for PDL (ISG PDL) was formed with the objective of establishing an open ecosystem upon which trusted and fully compatible PDL solutions could be built. The group includes mobile operators, semiconductor vendors, telecom equipment suppliers, agriculture manufacturers, automotive brands, plus several highly respected research institutes.
The new PDL group specification (GS PDL 011) produced by the ETSI ISG will provide a functional framework to adhere to when smart contract activities are being undertaken, without repudiation being a threat. This will thereby prevent the prospect of fraud occurring.
European Commission Launches Standardization Strategy
The European Commission (EC) has published a new Standardization Strategy outlining the EU's approach to standards within the Single Market as well as globally. The Strategy is accompanied by a proposal for an amendment to the Regulation on standardization, a report on its implementation, and the 2022 annual Union work programme for European standardization. This new Strategy aims to strengthen the EU's global competitiveness, enable a resilient, green, and digital economy, and to enshrine democratic values in technology applications. The new Standardization strategy illustrates the EU approach to standards concerning the Single Market and globally proposes five main actions:
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Anticipate, prioritize and address standardization needs in strategic areas
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Improve the governance and integrity of the European standardization system
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Enhance European leadership in global standards
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Support innovation
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Enable the next generation of standardization experts
Discover the New CEN and CENELEC Protocol for Accessibility
CEN and CENELEC are fully committed to ensuring that, through their standards, goods and services are equally accessible to all. In this context, they just released the updated “CEN-CENELEC Protocol on accessibility following a Design for All approach in standardization”. The protocol outlines the procedure to help technical bodies decide whether accessibility, with a Design for All approach, should be addressed when developing or revising a standardization deliverable. The new version, adopted by CEN/BT/Working Group 213 ‘Strategic Advisory Group on Accessibility’ (SAGA), was made shorter and more simple to use, based on the feedback received on its previous version: in the current format, the protocol is now reduced from 6 to 2 documents.
Interested Technical Body officers are invited to start with document 1 – ‘The Protocol Form’, which helps understand if and how accessibility is applicable to projects. Further information and guidance on how to include accessibility to standardization projects can be found under document 2 – ‘Relevance’.
Discover New EN 17529 on Data Protection and Privacy by Design and by Default
Privacy and personal data protection are essential in our current society as our offline and digital experiences are increasingly entwined. To ensure that these essential values are taken into account early on in the development of products and services, newly developed EN 17529 ‘Data protection and privacy by design and by default’ provides manufacturers and service providers with requirements before, or independently of, any specific application integration.
EN 17529 was developed in response to a request from the European Commission and is a perfect example of how European standards can be developed to complement international adoptions to address European values. Under this same mandate, there are also two Technical Reports that are currently being finalized which contain recommendations on how to integrate the principle of ‘data protection and privacy by design’ during the entire lifecycle of biometric access-control products and services, in order to achieve ‘data protection and privacy by default’. EN 17529 was developed by CEN-CLC/JTC 13 ‘Cybersecurity and Data Protection’, the Secretariat of which is currently held by DIN. JTC 13 is currently working on more standards to address similar issues, notably through its Working Group 5 ‘Data Protection, Privacy and Identity Management’.