In this post, we teach you about digital signatures, why we use them, and how.
All About Digital Signatures
A digital signature is just your regular signature–but it comes without the use of a pen. How? Well, it’s electronic in form, so you can just about attach it to any kind of document or file over the web or on your computer. While it may not come with the satisfaction of drawing out your signature on paper, it’s just as valid–and perhaps even more secure, faster and more convenient than a traditional signature.
Legality
There are some general guidelines as to how an electronic signature should be, but these are generally legally binding, and valid. Any deviance from the guidelines, however, may render the signature nullified.
Requirements
First, it must fulfill the requirements of the geographical location or the state in which it’s used. Further, here’re the following prerequisites it should meet:
- The signature should be unique to its maker
- The signature has been made under the vigilance of or directly by the maker
- The way the signature was created must be verifiable and its data must be accessible at all times.
- The receivers must acknowledge and accept digital signatures as a general rule
Need to Write?
No, you don’t need to write out your electronic signature as a necessity. Although writing it out may be an option in some web applications, the general rule is that if you check the “Accept” or “Submit” box, this is taken as a digital signature. Often, in this type of method, a security response is required to make sure a computer program isn’t trying to emulate you over the web.
Placement
You may have a specific space for you to add a signature on the web application or file you have accessed. Sometimes, there will be a text field where you can enter the signature, or there may be a button saying “Add signature.” Clicking the “Add signature” button will give you several different options to choose from. You can then type, draw, or even insert a picture of your signature if you have it.
Third-Party Services
You may be provided with a form and told to sign it. The easiest way to solve this riddle would be to use a third-party service provider who can draw out a digital signature, which you can then transfix into the file. An application like Word or Google Docs might not be sufficient to help you make that signature. Usually, the third-party provider will ask you to upload the document onto their website. Once the third-party provider helps you sign it, you will then be able to email it to the desired person.
Signature fields, through these third-party providers, can also be fixed into the document, if the document doesn’t already offer space for one. The third-party provider will then be able to help you sign the document.
Electronic Vs. Digital Signatures
Electronic signatures are different from digital signatures in that digital signatures require a specific protocol to deliver them. Digital signatures generally use complex programs and are derived from an issuing authority. These signatures can then be saved onto a device like a USB and then pasted onto the documents that require them. When these signatures are created, a scrambled version of the file is created. Thus when the signature is applied somewhere, it can only be verified if it matches the duplicate or scrambled file.
The Requirements
Automation of High-Volume Transactions
The ability to automate the process of looking through a thousand different applications with e-signatures makes it easier for institutions like banks, who have to go through many applications every day, to operate. This is where e-signatures come in handy.
Easy to Integrate
E-signature solutions, to ensure that your organization’s operations run smoothly, should be easy to access and to integrate into the system. There are open-source options available for this purpose.
Easily Scaled and Flexible Deployment
The need to be used across different departments or branches of the business may require you to invest in an e-signature solution that is easily integrated across platforms. The best option would be to find an e-signature solution that can be run across offices and departments with easy-to-deploy resources that allow it to be implemented in various locations without much difficulty.
User-Experience
Making sure our clients get the best possible UI to work with helps build customer satisfaction and avoids frustrations on the customer’s end. The ability to edit, revise, copy and reuse the signature goes a long way in providing a smooth experience to the customer.
Compliance & Security
Digital e-signature solutions must be able to provide a digital fingerprint of the file being signed so that the file is upheld as accurate and legitimate. The ability to secure a document so that it can’t be changed or altered is also something to look out for in e-signature solution providers. The slightest alteration during the process of retrieval and storage should indicate a red flag.
Forgeries
Because documents such as leases, property records, or legal documents are stored on a computer, some people may worry if their digitally signed document may be forged or stolen. The short answer is it’s very difficult to forge a digitally signed document. This is because every digitally signed document or web application is secured with thick layers of extremely dense encryption.
Because each document has a unique code or number attached to it, even if someone tries to change the signature, the document number has changed, thereby making it an attempt at forgery. Fraud, in this case, becomes much more complicated. A digital signature is basically a sort of key code or algorithm that protects the document or web application. Whenever a digitally signed document is scanned, the program generates a computation specific to that document only. This computation then becomes a small part of the digital signature. When the file is retrieved, the way to verify is to compare it to the duplicate or altered computation that also gets formed at the time of signature. If the computations are a match, the sign is verified. If not, then the sign gets rejected.
What Kinds of Documents Can’t Be Signed?
The vast majority of documents and web applications that go around are capable of being signed digitally. However, there are some documents that may require the presence of a witness:
- Attorney documents
- Will
- Marriage papers
- Court papers
- Specific financial transactions
Benefits for Business
Digital signatures just act as an added layer of security for the business. However, digital signatures may not be legally accepted in all countries.
An added benefit is being able to go paperless, hence conserving the environment and saving resources and money for the business.
How to Choose
There are various digital signature service providers available on the internet. However, it’s important to find one that follows the following guidelines:
- Their signatures provide legality and abide by the laws of the land
- Mass appendage and authorizing many signatures at once.
- Must remain fast and simple to ensure flow
The Companies
Many public and private sector companies utilize digital signatures, in addition to healthcare and governmental agencies. Their use depends on the statutes and laws of the country they’re being used in.
Most businesses that want to go “paperless” utilize digital signatures as well.
Safety
Since digital signatures use cryptography, designed as early as in the 1970s and still widely held as safe, these signatures typically protect the files that encapsulate them very well. The cryptographic code helps protect business transactions, databases, files and sensitive information.
Modifications
Simply put, these digital signatures can’t be modified. If a digital signature were to be changed, they create a new file with a different encryption than that of the one with the initial signature. The file can be converted and saved in different locations but it really can’t be modified.
Withdrawals
A digital signature, after it has been withdrawn by the user, can’t be used because only the authorized user is able to make this signature. Sometimes, some businesses would apply the digital signature to the organization and not the employee themselves. This is to save the company from jeopardy if the employee decides to leave.
If it becomes clear that the digital signature is not made by the person who initiated it in the first place, it immediately gets canceled and nullified. It is also not possible to have an infinite number of digital signatures–usually, governments would have a quota of how many they can allot in a certain period of time.
Conclusion
This article discussed the various elements of using and incorporating the use of digital signatures to your web application. As you have seen, the world of digital signatures is complicated and unique in its own right. The possibilities for security and safety, however, each time a web application is protected by a digital signature.
