In many Defensive Information Warfare (DIW) situations, absolute and trusted time is a crucial aspect of information operations. As information, manipulation, storage and transmittal becomes more time dependent, whether the need is for the coordination of information warfare systems, the protection of the national infrastructure, or the integrity of e-commerce operations, the problem remains the same. We need accurate and trusted time. A large number of diverse areas, such as automated data recording systems, computer-controlled systems, computer networks, air traffic control, radio astronomy, broadcasts, geodesy, and radio and TV networks, also depend on accurate time. In addition, many applications require not only accurate time, but also reliable time stamps to be used as legal evidence that digital data existed at a given time. In other words, an electronic document must be stamped by a trusted time source. Under this effort WetStone Technologies will be advancing the state-of-the-art by first developing a FIPS certified Time Stamp Authority (TSA) that will integrate into a global trusted time infrastructure. The TSA is targeted for integration into military defensive information warfare infrastructures and a wide range of commercial e-commerce applications.
Benefits: We anticipate the advancement of secure trusted time stamping technologies, including protocols for global synchronization of time, trusted time stamping requests and time stamp traceability to national time standards. Applications for this technology include e-commerce, electronic banking electronic stock, futures and foreign money exchange transaction, legal document protection, virtual contract execution and digital evidence preservation.
