PROJECT OF THE WEEK

LIGHTest (Lightweight Infrastructure for Global Heterogeneous Trust management in support of an open Ecosystem of Stakeholders and Trust schemes), initially funded by the European Commission is building a global trust infrastructure where arbitrary authorities can publish their trust information. Setting up a global infrastructure is an ambitious objective; however, given the already existing infrastructure, organization, governance and security standards of the Internet Domain Name System, it is with confidence that this is possible. 

LIGHTest provides a simple yet practical process for comparing and testing trust between two entities, to ensure that a transaction is valid and compliant. LIGHTest is innovative in that it is designed for ad hoc use and can be utilised in a global environment without a specific framework needing to be created. LIGHTest utilises the Domain Name Service (DNS) as the basis for its communications – a service which is recognised globally and can therefore provide a conduit of trust between EU and non-EU entities.  

How can the LIGHTest project make a difference to potential end-users?

LIGHTest provides trust-transparency when conducting ad-hoc transactions within relationships. This not only is important for formal certification purposes (such as PKI interoperability) but also self-declaring compliance with policies or guidelines (such as child-exploitation).

One of their Use Case is "Creating Trust in Global Supply-Chains".

They have seen many incidents where high-value supply-chains have been crippled by a single weak link that has been exploited. LIGHTest provides a way for parties within the supply-chain to make informed decisions as to mutual trust. It solves this perennial problem by creating transparency though the publication of self-declared policies. Crucially, this is not about verifying the authenticity of the policy itself, but providing a publicly stated self-declaration upon which a contract can be based. This in turn gives an important layer of protection that has not previously existed.

User organisations can use this to publish lists of qualified trust services, as business registrars and authorities can in health, law enforcement and justice. In the private sector, this can be used to establish trust in inter-banking, international trade, shipping, business reputation and credit rating. Companies, administrations, and citizens can then use LIGHTest open source software to easily query this trust information to verify trust in simple signed documents or multi-faceted complex transactions.

Lightest goals & results support and influence investments that can add value to the future Horizon Europe and Digital Europe as they demonstrates the importance of innovation that extends beyond the EU. Relationships with non-EU entities are already a fact of life, especially with extended supply-chains of Enterprises and SMEs alike, and it is therefore important to utilise new tools, such as LIGHTest to enhance and safeguard those relationships and transactions.

Join the LIGHTest Community and be involve in creating a global cross-domain trust infrastructure that renders it transparent and easy for verifiers to evaluate electronic transactions.