The Use of Cryptographic Techniques in Europe

With the increased use of e-Government services, the amount of citizens’ sensitive data being transmitted over public networks (e.g. the Internet) and stored within applications that are accessible from anywhere on the Internet has grown significantly. Hence, the cryptographic recommendations and specifications that European Union (EU) Member States promote for e-Government services have a direct impact on the privacy of European citizens. This study examine Member States’ cryptographic documents and specifications that relate to the encryption of unclassified information stored and transmitted by e-Government services. The findings and recommendations rely on answers received from Member States, covering more than 61% of the EU population; additionally, selected members of the European ICT industry provided feedback on their experience of working with, deploying, auditing and testing Member States’ cryptographic solutions.