[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 72493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30216]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION


ITS Joint Program Office Webinar on Alternative Organizational 
Structures for a Certificate Management Entity; Notice of Public 
Meeting

AGENCY: Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S. 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice.

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    The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Intelligent 
Transportation System Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) will host a free 
public webinar on December 9, 2011 from 1:00-3 p.m. (EST) to seek input 
on a set of high-level, alternative organizational structures for a 
certificate management entity (CME) to support a trusted and secure 
connected vehicle environment.
    Persons planning to attend the webinar should register by December 
5, 2011 using the following link: http://www.itsa.org/policywebinarregistration. For additional questions, please contact 
Adam Hopps at (202) 680-0091.
    The ITS JPO will present results from an early analysis of 
organizational models. This analysis will describe the functions that 
need to be performed by a CME; identify key constraints as well as 
institutional and policy requirements; model how those functions may be 
organized; and present a high level assessment of these organizational 
models against a set of evaluation criteria. Draft documentation of the 
analysis will be posted for comment at the following location on or 
before December 9, 2011 at: http://www.its.dot.gov. Stakeholders are 
asked to submit comments to: [email protected] by 8 p.m. (EST) on December 
14, 2011. Written comments may be submitted to: ITS JPO, 1200 New 
Jersey Ave., SE (E33-316) Washington, DC 20590. This is not an official 
docket. Stakeholders will have additional opportunities to provide 
input in to this project at later stages, including via a public 
meeting planned for March 2012.

Background

    Through 2014, the primary focus of the ITS JPO is a research 
initiative focused on developing rapid and secure wireless 
communications and trusted data exchanges among vehicles, roadside 
infrastructure, and passengers' personal communications devices. This 
innovative use of wireless communications provides the foundation for a 
connected environment for transportation that is intended to enable a 
multitude of applications to enhance surface transportation safety, 
mobility, and environmental performance.
    In the end state, users need to have assurance that the system 
offers trusted and secure communications. That is the fundamental 
purpose of the Certificate Management System (or CME): To ensure that 
participants and their vehicles receive digital certificates that allow 
them to be trusted actors within the system and to access meaningful 
and trusted data that is generated by others. If trust in the 
communications breaks down, then trust in the overall connected 
environment erodes and users become reluctant to use it or rely on it. 
Trust can be violated in several ways:
     Security of communications: If communications are not 
considered secure, users will be less likely to trust the data that is 
generated by or accessible through the system.
     Private data is compromised: If technical and policy 
solutions are not in place to protect private data or users perceive 
that their private data could be made available to unauthorized third 
parties without their awareness and consent, they will not participate.
     Corrupt or inaccurate data: If the data can be altered or 
corrupted through malicious misbehavior by hackers, it may cause more 
safety problems than fixes.
    The current study aims to analyze alternative operational models 
that describe potential organizational designs, institutional 
capabilities, and policies of a Certificate Management System. It also 
assesses the needs for operation, maintenance, and system enhancements 
over time. (This study is an institutional analysis only, not a 
technical analysis, and it is not intended to develop a system design.)

    Issued in Washington, DC, on the 16th day of November 2011.
John Augustine,
Managing Director, ITS Joint Program Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-30216 Filed 11-22-11; 8:45 am]
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