A group of major European corporations with activities on the Internet have launched what they reckon to be the first user organization dedicated to the propagation of secure electronic commerce throughout the continent, the International Commerce eXchange (ICX). The entity, which has received 600,000 ECU’s funding from the European Commission, was formally unveiled in London today at a seminar held by its founder members (ICL Plc, Shell, Telecom Italia and Sweden Post) on digital signature and cryptography. An initial mission statement was issued, in which the ICX said it was established to tackle ‘e-commerce security, technical, regulatory and business issues’. Chris Taper, principal consultant in this area for UK services company ICL and the ICX’s treasurer, said membership fees for the group vary from 200 ECU’s for individuals to 20,000 ECU’s for worldwide subscription by a major corporation. ICX chairman Nick Mansfield, who is also the principal information security consultant for Shell Service International, said the organization will serve as a forum for information and guidance to individuals, small and medium-sized companies and major corporations on e-commerce security issues. Jeremy Hilton, a director of JH Consulting and an ICX board member, said the group also hoped to ‘help formulate policy’ as well.
