What is a digital signature?
In some geographies and industries, digital signature is the preferred technology for e-signing documents – whether that’s for internal, B2B or B2C signing workflows. Digital signatures utilize a set of accepted standards called Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to ensure the highest security and acceptance. Electronic signatures are widely accepted as a legally binding and secure method of signing documents. Around the world, organizations are embracing e-signatures as an underpinning technology to drive their digital transformation projects forward.
OneSpan Sign is a leading e-signature solution built on digital signature technology that can help you to meet geographic requirements, such as those outlined in the EU’s eIDAS regulation, as well as industry-specific requirements in regulated industries such as financial services, government agencies, and healthcare.
What is the difference between electronic signature and digital signature?
What's the distinction?
“Electronic signatures” and “digital signatures” are often used interchangeably but each term carries a distinct set of defining features and functions. The broader category of e-signatures often includes digital signatures, which is a specific type of technology used to implement electronic signatures.
More specifically, an electronic signature is, like its paper equivalent, a legal concept. Its purpose is to capture a person’s intent to be legally bound to an agreement or contract in the form of a digital document or electronic document and as part of a paperless process.
A digital signature on the other hand refers to encryption/decryption technology and a subset of an electronic signature. Based on public-key cryptography (as opposed to private key), which generates two keys (public and private) using cryptographic algorithms, digital signatures secure signed documents and allow one to verify the authenticity of a signed record. A digital signature alone however is not an e-signature and therefore cannot capture a person’s intent to sign a document. When used with an e-signing application, digital signature technology secures the e-signed data. The confusion comes when terms like “digital signing” blend the two terms colloquially.
What's the solution?
A solution that simply digitally signs documents often lacks feature sets commonly found in best-in-class eSignature solutions, including an out-of-the-box user interface (UI), as well as transaction management and advanced document workflow customization capabilities used in more complex transactions that touch the customer.
The bottom line is that when looking for a solution to manage your signing processes, it’s important to ensure that it is built on digital signature technology to guarantee the integrity of the document and underlying signatures. Without the use of digital signatures, your document-based transactions may not be legally binding, putting you and your organization at risk in the event of a compliance audit or legal case.
How do digital signatures work? The e-signature process
OneSpan Sign handles all aspects of the signing process – from collecting consent to delivering and storing the e-signed document and detailed audit trail of the transaction. Our solution is managed with security, compliance and long-term verifiability in mind. Customers gain peace of mind knowing that their documents are secure throughout their lifecycle. The following table highlights the key steps in the document signing process:
Consent
Signer consents to the use of e‑signatures and e‑documents
Intent
Click, type or draw action to sign at a specified location
Identity Proofing
Identification and authentication methods verify the signer’s identity in order to allow them to access the documents and sign
Digitally Sign
Binds the certificate, user identity and audit trail to signed data
Certify
Audit trails are stored and digitally signed, and the PDF locked
Verify
Verify document, identity, time/date, audit trails with PDF reader
Audit
Vendor-independent audit trails that capture events proving how the signer was identified, what docs they signed, when, and where
Store
Documents stored in a repository or the customer's desired system of record
The OneSpan Sign Difference
E-Signature Pioneer
25 years of electronic and digital signature experience and innovation to ensure you can achieve the highest completion rates for your signing processes.
Global E-Sign Laws and Regulations
Out-of-the-box support for requirements in the U.S. ESIGN Act, the EU’s eIDAS regulation, Australia’s Electronic Transactions Act and many more.
An Enterprise-Grade Solution that Scales with Your Needs
The only solution to provide a unified platform and integration framework that maintains high security, compliance and performance everywhere in the world.
Standards-Based Signing
Supports a broad range of local- and server-side signing certificates that adhere to global standards; instant interoperability with X.509 certificates issued by any TSP in Europe; support for signing with certificates stored on U.S. government Common Access Cards (CAC) and PIV (Personal Identity Verification) cards.
Wide Range of Deployment Options
Deploy OneSpan Sign in a public cloud, private cloud or on-premises behind your firewall; fulfill in-country data residency requirements with global data centers
Security & Trust are at the Heart of our Business
OneSpan is a global leader in digital security and e-signature solutions. We believe that our 25+ years of experience in the IT security segment is a real asset to our employees, partners and customers – who can transact digitally using our solutions with trust and confidence.
The information on this site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you seek independent professional advice. OneSpan does not accept liability for the contents of these materials.