STANDARD TRANSFER SPECIFICATION - Eskom

1 DOCUMENT HISTORYAUTHORREVISIONDATEDOCUMENT TYPERoy Kaplan110/05/95 DraftDocument prepared by:Measurement and Control Department,National PTM&C,Transmission Group,EskomApproval :_____Design EngineerSection ManagerM&C ManagerSTANDARD TRANSFER SPECIFICATIONGUIDELINESSTS Guide Draft: 1995 1 DefinitionsThe following definitions are relevant For the purpose of this STANDARD thefollowing definitions apply:agent: Party responsible for the operation and management of creditdispensers at point of sale locations in support of the sale of pre-paidelectricity tokens to customers on behalf of : A precise and rigorous statement of a method of : A process used between a sender and a receiver, to ensuredata integrity and origin key: A key that is encrypted with a parent : A method of cryptography which applies an algorithm to the letters ordigits of the plaintext to create ciphertext, and vice versa.

2 Typically thealgorithm is used in conjunction with one or more : The enciphered form of data (see cipher, encipherment).common group: See common supply supply group: A supply group associating a set of electricitydispensers on a geographical or regional basis, in which each and everyelectricity dispenser in the supply group has a common dispenser dispenser: A device capable of generating STANDARD transferspecification tokens for the TRANSFER of management and credit information toan electricity dispensing unit: See credit key: A parameter used in conjunction with an algorithm forthe purpose of validation, authentication, encipherment or : The discipline which embodies principles, means andmethods for the transformation of data in order to conceal its informationcontent, prevent its undetected modification and/or prevent its.

3 Party residing at or representing a site at which a distributor'selectricity dispenser is installed, who purchases a pre-paid electricity tokenfrom a credit Guide Draft: 1995 2data integrity: The property that data has not been altered or destroyed inan unauthorised : The cryptographic transformation of ciphertext data (seecryptography) to produce plaintext data - the reversal of : See group: See default supply supply group: A supply group associating a set of electricitydispensers which are not yet allocated to a unique supply group or commonsupply group, in which each and every electricity dispenser in the supplygroup has a unique dispenser card: An identification card uniquely associated with an electricitydispenser, issued by the distributor and used by the customer during avending transaction to provide dispenser specific identification andmanagement data required by the credit dispenser to output a token that maybe input to the electricity key: A key associated with an electricity dispenser and usedtogether with the STANDARD TRANSFER algorithm to encrypt tokens generated ata credit dispenser and decrypt tokens input at an electricity : A party responsible for the installation, connection, operationand management of electricity dispensers at customer sites in support of thesupply of electricity via the distribution dispenser.

4 A device capable of inputting STANDARD transferspecification management and credit tokens, and executing functionsaccording to the information on the token, including the metering dispenser key register: A physically secure environment for thenon-volatile storage of the electricity dispenser's current dispenser : The cryptographic transformation of plaintext data (seecryptography) to produce ciphertext : See : See modulo-2 : The ability to exchange keys, whether manually orautomatically, between equipment supplied by one manufacturer andSTS Guide Draft: 1995 3operated by one party and equipment supplied by another manufacturer andoperated by another : Abbreviated term for cryptographic activation date: An attribute associated with a vending key value whichdefines the date upon which the vending key becomes the supply group'scurrent vending key, and the date upon which the associated key revisionnumber becomes the supply group key revision block: In the context of the Data Encryption STANDARD (ANSI ), it isthe 64 bit block of data which contains the 56 bit expiry number: An attribute associated with a key value which definesthe period during which the key value can be management: ?

5 ??key revision number: An attribute associated with a key value whichprovides a key sequencing type: An attribute associated with a key value which defines the purposefor which the key value can be card electricity dispenser: An electricity dispenser whichincorporates magnetic card token technology as the mechanism for inputtingstandard TRANSFER SPECIFICATION card token technology: A technology which enables the humanentry of a STANDARD TRANSFER SPECIFICATION disposable magnetic card token intoa device via a magnetic card : A party involved in the design and/or development and/orproduction of electricity dispensers and/or credit addition: A binary addition with no carry, giving the followingvalues:0 + 0 = 0;0 + 1 = 1;1 + 0 = 1;1 + 1 = function: A function y=f(x) which is relatively easy to compute,whose inverse is much more difficult to compute ( given x, it is easy to findy, but given a value y it is difficult to find any solution x of y=f(x)).

6 Origin integrity: The corroboration that the source of data received is Guide Draft: 1995 4parent key: A key used to encrypt a child key for the purpose of concealingthe child key, preventing its undetected modification and/or secure environment: An environment in the form of a facility,enclosure or device whose penetration, in any manner, actively rendersunintelligible any secret data contained therein, or which itself precludes anypenetration that could allow disclosure of this secret : Data which is not in an enciphered state (see cipher,encipherment) and is therefore in its normal of consumption: Customer location at which an electricity dispenserinstalled and operated by a distributor is situated in support of the meteredsupply of electricity according to the amount of electricity input from a pre-paid electricity of sale: Location at which a credit dispenser operated by an agent issituated in support of the sale of pre-paid electricity tokens to : ?

7 ??seed key: A key used by an algorithm as a starting or initialising value for thegeneration of another group: A classification used by distributors for the purpose ofgrouping electricity dispensers, thereby facilitating their management andcontrol. Three types of supply group are defined - default supply group,unique supply group and common supply group key revision number: An attribute of a supply group whichdefines the current key revision number for the supply group, and thereforethe current vending key value for the supply : A data transport mechanism carrying a data message definedaccording to the STANDARD TRANSFER SPECIFICATION for the TRANSFER ofmanagement and credit information between a credit dispenser and anelectricity technology: ???unique group: See unique supply supply group: A supply group associating a set of electricitydispensers on a geographical or regional basis, in which each and everyelectricity dispenser in the supply group has a unique dispenser Guide Draft: 1995 5validation: The process of checking the data integrity of a message, orselected parts of a key: A key associated with a supply group and used as a seed keyto generate dispenser keys for electricity dispensers in the supply system: A system utilised by an agent for the operation andmanagement of credit dispensers at point of sale locations in support of thesale of pre-paid electricity tokens to customers on behalf of transaction.

8 A transaction uniquely associated with an electricitydispenser, credit dispenser and token which records all relevant informationpertaining to the purchase of the pre-paid electricity token by a customerfrom the agent's credit dispenser to activate the supply of electricity from thedistributor's electricity following abbreviations are used in this STANDARD :AbbreviationMeaningCDUC redit Dispenser UnitCRCC yclic Redundancy Check/CodeCVSC ommon Vending SystemDEAData Encryption AlgorithmDESData Encryption StandardEDElectricity DispenserISOI nternational Organization for StandardizationOWFOne Way FunctionPANP rimary Account NumberPOCP oint Of ConsumptionPOSP oint Of Sale/ServiceSTAS tandard TRANSFER AlgorithmSTSS tandard TRANSFER SpecificationSTS originsHistorically in electrification pre-payment, the focus of SPECIFICATION andstandardization by distributors was on the ED, rather than on the vendingsystem and infrastructure required to support the ED.

9 Typically thespecification and development of vending systems was left to the various EDmanufacturers. As a result, different vending systems were developed andthese were not usually compatible with each Guide Draft: 1995 6 The most significant consequence of this incompatibility was the inability ofthe vending system of one manufacturer to vend to the ED of , a distributor purchasing EDs from different manufacturers hadto purchase separate vending systems to support the sale of pre-payment toeach manufacturer's ED. This proved to be expensive, inefficient andoperationally inconvenient and as a major purchaser of EDs initiated the definition of STS as ameans of ensuring that the electricity pre-payment tokens output from a CDUdeveloped by one manufacturer could be input to an ED developed byanother manufacturer.

10 Separately but in concert with the STS definitionprocess, Eskom defined and developed the CVS to provide a total electricitydispensing system capable of supporting the widespread deployment of pre-payment EDs sourced from a number of different manufacturers. In thisregard, it should be emphasized that the STS is a STANDARD , whereas theCVS is a system implemented according to a set of is therefore significant in that it represents the equivalent of an "opensystems" STANDARD in the electricity dispensing industry, allowing STScompatible dispensing and vending equipment from different manufacturersto interoperate to the benefit of the customer, distributor and agent, therebyproviding a basis for a more competitive, cost-efficient and convenientelectricity pre-payment general conceptsIntroductionThe STS is based upon a number of concepts, a clear appreciation of whichsignificantly eases the task of implementing a CDU or ED.