Robert James
In the business world, digital transmissions and signatures are becoming the norm rather than an exception. As technology evolves, security and privacy are increasing concerns to maintaining confidentiality in transmissions and integrity in signatures. Discover more about digital signature services and how they solve problems of impersonation and tampering in digital transmissions.
What is a Digital Signature?
A digital signature uses mathematical techniques to validate the integrity and authenticity of software, messages, or digital documents. In summary, it is the digital equivalent of stamped or handwritten signatures but offers a higher level of security. Digital signature services such as mSign provide evidence of digital messages’ status, origin, and identity to eliminate tampering. Plus, signers can use these signatures to acknowledge consent.
Legal and Binding
In many countries, digital signatures are legally binding like traditional handwritten or stamped signatures. As a result, a digital signature differs from an electronic signature because it provides a much higher level of security. Electronic signatures are not considered legally binding because they do not provide the same authentication as a digital signature service.
Digital Signatures Make a Difference
While many companies started using electronic signatures for convenience, they soon realized they were not legal and binding. Thus, industries reliant upon verified signatures must invest in digital signature services to remain legally compliant. Otherwise, signatures may not be validated and cause issues with contractual arrangements and other verifiable agreements.
How Do Digital Signatures Work?
Digital signatures come in the form of a coded message. Consistent digital signatures follow a standard format, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), for optimum security and universal acceptability. Thus, a digital signature acts as a person’s electronic “fingerprint,” proving they acknowledged and signed a document digitally.
What is PKI?
To further understand digital signatures, a PKI is a requirement allowing a digital signature’s creation. Each digital signature transaction includes a pair of private and public keys. The signer only uses the private key to sign the document, which is never shared. The public key is used to validate the signer’s signature to protect against breaches, impersonations, and forgeries.
What Role Does a Certificate of Authority Play?
PKI also enforces other requirements, such as the Certificate of Authority (CA). A CA is a digital certificate with enrollment software and tools for managing, revoking, and renewing certificates and keys. In addition, the CA acts as a trust service provider, a third-party organization that ensures the safety of the digital signature to avoid forgeries. The integrity of a digital signature is verifiable by a third party for accuracy.
Why are Digital Signatures Important?
In a world of working remotely, digital signatures are more important than ever before. Many documents are transferred digitally rather than waiting for snail mail or in-person delivery, which is inefficient in a fast-paced workplace. However, agreements and other essential contracts require a valid signature to be active and enforceable. Using digital signature services offers clients and associates the highest level of convenience while maintaining integrity in business processes.
In an international marketplace fueled by the internet and digital technology, staying ahead of the curve is crucial to remaining competitive. Digital signature services empower companies to accept an electronic signature and verify it for regulatory and contractual purposes. As a result, people conduct business without the hassles of mailing back and forth, scheduling meetings, and signing papers in person. With digital signature services, it takes minutes to verify signatures and move forward with business.
