Digital Certification Entities Accreditation

They may opt for accreditation in the program of Digital Certification Entities, in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of Decree 333 of 2014 and Art. 160, 161 and 162 of Decree Law 0019 of 2012, provide that the criteria specification of accreditation CEA in force is applicable to:

1. The legal entities, both public and private, of national or foreign origin, including chambers of commerce and notaries, which intend to be accredited as an ECD. 
2. ECDs that have been authorized by the Superintendence of Industry, Commerce and Industry. 
3. ECDs in the process of accreditation or accredited by ONAC. On the other hand, Article 161 of Decree Law 019 of 2012, as well as Article 30 of Law 527 of 1999, remained as follows: The digital certification entities – ECD accredited by the National Accreditation Agency of Colombia to provide their services in the country, may perform, among others, the following activities:
   • Issue certificates in connection with the electronic or digital signatures of natural or legal persons.
   • Issue certificates on the verification of alteration between the sending and receiving of data messages and electronic transferable documents.
   • Issue certificates in relation to the person who has a right or obligation with respect to the documents set forth in paragraphs f) and g) of Article 26 of Law 527 of 1999.
   • Offer or facilitate the services of generation of certified digital signature creation data.
   • Offer or facilitate logging and time-stamping services in the generation, transmission and reception of data messages.
   • Offer or facilitate the services of data generation for the creation of electronic signatures.
   • Offer registration, custody and annotation services for electronic transferable documents.
   • Offer archiving and storage services for data messages and electronic transferable documents.
   • Any other activity related to the creation, use or utilization of digital and electronic signatures.

4. Numeral 1 of Article 11 of Decree 333 of 2014 establishes that the digital certification services provided by the ECD must be accredited, as follows:

Article 11 of Decree 333 of 2014, Infrastructure and Resources, states: “In development of the provisions of paragraph b) of Article 29 of Law 527 of 1999, the certification entity shall have a team of people, a physical and technological infrastructure and procedures and security systems, such that: 1. Can generate their own digital and electronic signatures and, in addition, allow them to provide all the services for which they request accreditation”.

Therefore, the scope of accreditation granted by ONAC to the ECD shall correspond to the digital certification services for which it applies for accreditation and demonstrates its competence in the context of the CEA Specific Accreditation Criteria in force at the time of formally submitting its intention to be accredited.