DD CEN/TS 15121-2:2011

What is DD CEN/TS 15121-2 - Hybrid mail interface specifications about?   

DD CEN/TS 15121-2 is a technical specification that secured electronic postal service, referred to as the Electronic Postal Certification Mark (EPCM) service, which provides a chain of evidence, stored by an administration as a trusted third party, to prove the existence of an electronic event, for certain content, at a certain date and time, and involving one or more identified parties. The service is defined by reference to the concepts, schemas, and operations defined in CEN/TS 15121-1, Postal Services - Hybrid Mail, Part 1: Secured electronic postal services (SePS) interface specification - Concepts, schemas, and operations. DD CEN/TS 15121-2 requires support for five core SePS operations and permits optional support for seven others.  

This version of DD CEN/TS 15121-2 does not cover:  

• A description of the issues surrounding inter-operability between multiple postal SePS implementations when a business transaction Lifecycle requires the participation of more than one SePS implementation in a cross-border scenario involving two or more postal services  
• Issues surrounding SePS usage in a ‘multiple Certificate Authority’ scenarios where inter-operating posts are participating in a cross-border transaction as described above  
• Examination of “Certificate Authority deployment model” alternatives necessitated by the cross-border scenarios described above   

Who is DD CEN/TS 15121-2 - Hybrid mail interface specifications for?  

DD CEN/TS 15121-2 on hybrid mail interface specifications is useful for:  

• The cryptography industry  
• Data security and processing  
• Electronic and digital signatures  
• Information exchange   
• Software programmers  

Why should you use DD CEN/TS 15121-2 - Hybrid mail interface specifications?   

DD CEN/TS 15121-2 provides the specification of the EPCM service which conforms with the definition in Article RL 257bis of the UPU Letter Post Regulations. DD CEN/TS 15121-2 is based on a subset of the verbs or operations defined in CEN/TS 15121-1. An EPCM is essentially a digital signature verification and timestamping authority which verifies, and logs as evidence, the content integrity of electronic information. The collection of technical services in an EPCM service can cryptographically verify and store electronic evidence in support of the resolution of potential disputes which challenge the authenticity of events within a cycle of one or more automated transactions involving a postal customer. An EPCM service constructed to DD CEN/TS 15121-2 can support the capture and reproduction of evidence data attesting to the fact that a target business transaction was conducted and completed in an environment of integrity and trustworthiness with respect to one or more of the following attributes:  

• The transaction originator  
• The party, if any, who closed or terminated the transaction  
• Other parties who participated in the transaction  
• Were the terms, conditions, and commitments understood by all parties  
• When was the document agreed to by the stakeholders, and sent to each participating party  
• When was it received by each participating party  
• Was the content intact throughout the transmission  
• Have all parties been notified of all agreed events of significance  

An EPCM service that complies with DD CEN/TS 15121-2 can support the following capabilities:  

• Non-repudiation of origin  
• Non-repudiation of submission  
• Non-repudiation of delivery  
• Non-repudiation of receipt