About CCA

PKI stands for Public Key Infrastructure. To enable the use of electronic signatures in an open environment (such as the Internet) where the participants do not know each other, it is necessary to know who the signer is. PKI is a system created for this purpose and in this system a reliable third party issues an electronic certificate. The certificate contains information about the person the certificate is issued to. PKI uses a key pair, in which one key is public and the other is private.

The system is based on asymmetric encryption. The signer signs the message with a private key, known only by the signer. The recipient can verify the authenticity of the signature and the integrity of the message with the public key given in the certificate.

The Electronic Transactions Act, 2000 (as amended), and its regulations, provide the required legal sanctity to the digital signatures based on asymmetric cryptosystems. It also provides for the Controller of Certification Authorities (CCA) to license and regulate the working of Certification Authorities. The Certification Authorities (CAs) issue digital signature certificates to users.

The CCA certifies the public keys of CAs using its own private key, which enables users in the cyberspace to verify that a given certificate is issued by a licensed CA.

In order to enforce the above requirements of the PKI, the Mauritian CCA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding.  This MoU mainly rests upon the utilisation by the Mauritian CCA of the technical Infrastructure known as the Root Certification Authority of India (RCAI) which is used by the Indian CCA to digitally sign the public key certificates of all licensed CAs in India. Consequently the Mauritian Certificate Practice Statement (CPS) is the same CPS as the one for the Indian CCA.

Pursuant to this MoU, the RCAI will also be used to digitally sign the public key certificates of all licensed CAs in Mauritius. This operation will be undertaken by the Indian CCA on behalf of the Mauritian CCA

A separate Key Pair for Mauritius Operations will be created in the infrastructure of the Root Certificate Authority of India (RCAI), under which Public Key Certificates will be issued to licensed CAs in Mauritius for issuance of Digital Signature Certificates to end-users in Mauritius.  In this way, the trust chain of India PKI will be separate from that of the Digital Signature Certificates issued to Mauritius citizens/residents.