Standards are documented agreements containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used constantly as rules or guidelines to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose. (ISO)

Adhering to an international standard means that the product or service can be used worldwide, as is the case, for example, for credit cards and smart cards.

ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) (main page)

In the telecommunication field, the objective of the ITU standardization sector (ITU-T) "is to ensure an efficient and on-time production of high quality standards covering all fields of telecommunications."

Standardization work is carried out by ITU-T Study Groups. ITU-T Study Group 17 is the lead ITU-T Study Group for communication systems security matters (CSS).

• ITU-T Study Group 17 - Communication System Security

Security standards were also the subject of a two-day workshop organized by ITU-T in Seoul, Korea, in May 2002:

• ITU-T Workshop on Security 

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, with the mission to promote the development of standardization in the world, to facilitate international exchange of goods and services.

ISO and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) have established a Joint Technical Committee 1(JTC 1): ISO/IEC JTC 1, dealing with standardization in the field of Information Technology. 

Subcommittee 27 (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27) is specifically working in the area of "security techniques" for IT.

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