How much security is enough?: The 1st in a new series of e-signature white papers from eSignLive
Montreal, QC, October 26, 2005 — Silanis Technology, the industry’s most experienced electronic signature provider, with more than two million consumers and users in business and government, today released a new white paper through its online resource center. Entitled “Security in Electronic Documents and Signatures”, the white paper addresses one of the greatest sources of confusion for organizations tasked with assessing their electronic signature requirements – identifying the appropriate level of security for the targeted business process.
“The main reason organizations move their document signing processes into an electronic environment is to make them more efficient; however, the exact opposite sometimes occurs,” says Michael Laurie, co-founder and vice-president of Silanis Technology. “Some companies end up making the electronic process even more complex and difficult to use because they set a higher standard for security than is normally required with paper.”
The reason for this, according to Laurie, is based on a common misconception that electronic signing increases the risk of fraud and therefore requires more security. “Organizations have the tendency to focus their electronic signature initiative on implementing technologies that authenticate users, when in reality they already have most, if not all, of the security measures in place to establish the identity of its signers,” says Laurie.
The white paper defines the many forms of user authentication that exist today, such as personal information verification (PIV) and credentials, while emphasizing that they are not necessarily methods of electronic signing.
“Signing is the expression of intent to approve, authenticate or agree with the information in a document. It requires a specific action, such as clicking on a button or entering a password,” explains Laurie. “An electronic signature solution must reliably capture and reproduce that intent, while ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, standards and policies.”
The whitepaper also addresses security as it applies to documents, signatures, transactions, information privacy and authoritative copies.
About Silanis
Founded in 1992, Silanis Technology Inc. is the largest and most experienced provider of electronic signature solutions. More than 1,100 government and commercial organizations, representing two million users, depend on Silanis’ solutions to accelerate operations, improve service, and reduce costs. The company’s solutions not only eliminate the inefficiencies of paper, they provide reliable and auditable business records needed to demonstrate compliance with applicable laws, standards, regulations and policies.