By Felicity Ussher, 15 October 1998 17:33
NEWS UK high-street bank NatWest has bought a major stake in 5th Generation Messaging - a UK company that is developing software to make emails legally binding in court. NatWest Electronic Markets - a division of the bank - said its 35 per cent stake in 5th Generation is a way of formalising their existing relationship. The companies have been working together on the G5 Messaging Forum, along with Philips, Rockwell, Xerox and others. The G5 Messaging protocol is still in its early stages, but members of the forum will use it to develop toolkits for storing emails securely - either in a self-contained archive or remotely - and content filters, which guarantee that the message has not been tampered with. So far, only NetStore - a data back-up supplier - has announced G5-compliant products. 5th Generation hopes its archiving software will make emails as reliable as written evidence when presented in court. Current policy at ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) is that emails cannot even prove association between criminals.
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