Frequently Asked Questions

• The Common-use signing interface (CSI)

  • Do I need CSI?
  • What is CSI and how does it work?
  • What types of digital certificate does the CSI support?
  • What is an Australian Business Number Digital Signature Certificate (ABN-DSC)?
  • Is CSI secure?
  • Does CSI support smart cards?

• Certificate stores and the CSI management utility

  • What is a certificate store?
  • What is the CSI Management Utility?
  • I use a network with roaming profiles, how do I configure the CSI management utility to find my certificates?

• Installing CSI

  • What does supported operating system/browser mean?
  • Do I need to ask my system administrator to install CSI for me?
  • I'm an administrator; can I install CSI to a network shared drive and use it from there?
  • I'm an administrator; can I install CSI once for multiple users on a computer?
  • I'm an administrator; can I use CSI in my terminal services environment?
  • Why is my computer saying I don't have CSI installed when I do?
  • What files are installed on my computer when I install CSI?

• Using your digital certificates

  • What's the difference between signing for authentication and signing for non-repudiation?

• Uninstalling CSI

  • How do I uninstall CSI?
  • Are all traces of CSI removed from my computer when I uninstall it?
  • Will I lose my certificates if I uninstall CSI?

The Common-use signing interface (CSI)

Q. Do I need CSI?

A. CSI is essential to using many online services that involve digital certificates. It needs to be installed on your computer before you can install and use digital certificates.

The organisation you are dealing with will let you know if you need to install CSI.

Q. What is CSI and how does it work?

A. Common-use signing interface (CSI) is a software component that provides security to online services using Australian Business Number Digital Signature Certificates (ABN-DSCs). CSI generates digital signatures and can encrypt information transmitted over the Internet so the sender and recipient:

• have proof that a transmission occurred
• can be confident the sender is who they say they are
• will know if the information has been tampered with in transmission

You don't have to do anything to make CSI work. It will function behind the scenes when you use online services requiring your digital certificate.

Q. What types of digital certificate does CSI support?

A. CSI supports any valid ABN-DSC (digital certificate) issued by an accredited supplier listed at www.gatekeeper.gov.au.

Q. What is an Australian Business Number Digital Signature Certificate (ABN-DSC)?

A. ABN-DSC (digital certificates) contain information that identifies your business, authorised representatives of your business, your Australian business number (ABN), and some other public information.

Q. Is the CSI secure?

A. Yes. CSI uses strong encryption algorithms and protocols to protect data. It has been designed and thoroughly tested to minimise the risk of security vulnerabilities. CSI itself is digitally signed to help protect against malicious or accidental tampering.

Q. Does CSI support smart cards?

A. Smart cards are supported by CSI on Windows platforms as an alternative means of storing private information. Smart cards are currently not supported on the Macintosh platform.

Certificate stores and the CSI management utility

Q. What is a certificate store?

A. A certificate store is a secured collection of certificates. CSI uses a file on your hard drive as a certificate store.

Digital certificates are issued in two parts; one for authentication and one for encryption. This means that for each digital certificate that you hold, you will see two parts in your CSI store.

Q. What is the CSI Management Utility?

A. The CSI Management Utility is an application that allows you to manage your digital certificates. You can use it to view the information stored on your certificates, change preferences, change your digital certificate password and add new software based certificates to your certificate store.

You can reach the CSI Management Utility by going to Start > Common-Use Signing Interface > CSI Management Utility.

Q. I use a network with roaming profiles, how do I configure the CSI management utility to find my certificates?

A. You will need to change the shortcut for your CSI Management utility.

1. Right click the shortcut and drag the mouse down to the properties menu item. Left click on this item.

This should display a dialogue box with four tab panes

2. Select the "Shortcut" tab. This should contain a text box called "Target."
3. Insert the string -Duser.home="%USERPROFILE%" after the end of the "javawforcsi.exe" section and before the au.gov.bafcsi.clapi.crypto.CsiManager section ensuring that a space exists between each section.
4. Click "Apply" and "Ok" to close the dialogue box.

Test the new shortcut by opening the Management Utility. You should now be able to see your digital certificates.

Installing CSI

Q. What does supported operating system/browser mean?

A. The operating systems and browsers listed in system requirements are supported operating systems. This means they should work reliably with CSI and that you will be able to access technical support through the organisation who issued your digital certificate.

You should only install CSI on systems with supported operating systems and browsers.

Q. Do I need to ask my system administrator to install CSI for me?

A.Yes. Installation of the CSI requires administrative privileges on Windows and an administrator's details on Macintosh.

Q. I'm an administrator; can I install CSI to a network shared drive and use it from there?

A. Using the CSI in this configuration is insecure. You should not install CSI to a shared network drive.

Q. I'm an administrator; can I install CSI once for multiple users on a computer?

A. Yes, the CSI was designed to support this configuration.

Q. I'm an administrator; can I use CSI in my terminal services environment?

A. Using CSI with terminal services is insecure. Please ensure you have read the terminal services page before making the decision to use CSI in this way.

Q. Why is my computer saying I don't have CSI installed when I do?

A. You might be told you do not have CSI installed if you haven't restarted your browser after installing CSI or if you are using an unsupported browser.

Q. What files are installed on my computer when I install CSI?

A.

Windows

All CSI components are installed into the "C:\Program Files\Common-Use Signing Interface\" folder (or the equivalent for your windows operating system).

A program group is added to the Start > All Programs menu, called "Common-Use Signing Interface". It contains an Uninstall link, a link to the CSI Management Utility and a link to the internal Help pages.

Macintosh

• "csi.jar" in the Home->lib->ext directories of all versions of Java located in the Hard Drive->System->Library->Frameworks->JavaVM.framework->Versions directory
• a CSI directory in the Applications directory and installs the "CSI Help.app", a "CSI Management Utility.app" and a "Uninstall CSI.dmg"
• "jce1_2_2.jar", "local_policy.jar" and "US_export_policy.jar in the Home->lib->ext directory of Java 1.3.1. If this is installed it will be located in the Hard Drive->System->Library->Frameworks->JavaVM.framework->Versions directory

The CSI also updates the "local_policy.jar" and "US_export_policy.jar" in the Home->lib->security directories of all versions of Java located in the Hard Drive->System->Library->Frameworks->JavaVM.framework->Versions directory.

Using your digital certificates

Q. What's the difference between signing for authentication and signing for non-repudiation?

A. When you transmit information through online services using CSI and digital certificate technology, you may be asked to sign for authentication or non-repudiation before the transmission can take place.

Signing for authentication means you are using your digital certificate to assure the recipient that they are genuinely dealing with you.

Signing for non-repudiation involves a higher level of commitment than authentication. It includes authentication but also is proof for both you and the recipient that a transmission occurred.

Each time you are asked to sign a transmission (whether for authentication or non-repudiation), you need to check the information you are sending and read the terms and conditions on the signing confirmation screen. If you cannot agree to all the terms and conditions (for example, that the information is complete and accurate), you should cancel the transmission.

Uninstalling CSI

Q.How do I uninstall CSI?

A . To uninstall CSI from a Windows machine, run "Uninstall CSI" located in Start->Programs->Common-Use Signing Interface.

To uninstall CSI from a Macintosh machine, download and run the Macintosh Uninstaller.

Q. Are all traces of CSI removed from my computer when I uninstall it?

A . No. The files containing your certificate stores, configuration settings, and log data will not be removed from your computer. These files are all located in the ".csi" folder in your home directory.

Q. Will I lose my certificates if I uninstall CSI?

A . No.The file containing your certificate store remains on your computer when you uninstall CSI.

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