Security and integrity of a company is very important for a business, from start up to maintaining its position in the industry. In this article, we’ll talk more about the security measures if you’re using Digital Signature software.
Using an digital signature software can help you streamline your business needs and greatly increase customer satisfaction. Both digital signatures and digital certificates help companies get the most out of their potential productivity even more. You can find about the kinds of digital signature by reading CrowdReviews’ reviews of digital signature software here. But before that, read more about digital signatures and digital certificates.
Digital Signature Versus Digital Certificate
First things, first. Digital Signatures and digital certificates are similar but not the same. They are both security measures but the implementation and the reason for implementation is different from each other. You can use a digital or e-signature software if you need a digital signature or a digital certificate.
Basically, both involve two people, the sender and the receiver of an important document. In this case, the sender is an employee of your company and the receiver is one of your customers. The sender will provide a secure message to the receiver. The problem with that is, how can they make sure that it is secure and that no one can modify the document? To know more about how digital signatures work, SearchSecurity has a great infographic on it here.
Let’s continue on with digital signatures. The sender, with the help of the digital signature tool, will send the document to the receiver. Once the receiver gets it, he or she will sign the document digitally. A hash function or hash equation will be created. This hash function would serve as a digital fingerprint for the document. The digital fingerprint would then be encrypted by using the receiver’s private key. The encryption should include four things: the hash function or the digital fingerprint, an attached public key from the receiver, a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate and a Certificate Authority (CA).
A PKI is a system where it involves cryptography, providing a public and a private key that is unique in electronic documents. The public key is generated if you want to encrypt the message to send a secure message and a private key is used to decrypt the message.
A CA certificate will be issued if the legitimacy of the signatories is proved to be valid. It is compared to an ID document. They are the ones that issue the digital certificate and identifies the user. The most popular type of CA certificates is the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates and the TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificates.
Digital certificates, on the other hand, verify the signed document. If you use a software for digital signatures, it will authenticate the validity of the document by matching and comparing the original digital fingerprint and the one used. They have the technology to find out if a document has been modified or changed once it has been signed.
Basically, using digital signature tools helps in signing the documents while digital certificates verify the signed document. Both are used as an approval of an agreement or a proof of transaction or authenticity of transactions made using the Internet as a medium.
One important thing to note is that the Best Digital Signature Software must always be secure and legal. You need to make sure the data you transmit on the Internet is secure. By having both, you can have the confidence that your customer’s data is kept confidential. For more information about the differences between a digital signature and a digital certificate, please check LinkedIn’s article here or SearchSecurity’s article here.
The Pros of a Digital Signature
There are a lot of pros in using the Best Digital Signature Software. One of the many advantages of it is that they are user friendly. You don’t need a lot of training to have your documents signed and your customers do not have a hard time in signing them. The process is very quick and easy to understand.
It saves you time and money. Instead of waiting for paper documents to be mailed to your customers and back to you once signed, you don’t have to wait for them before you can complete a business transaction. Using a digital software can process an electronic signature in just a couple of seconds, at the most minutes, to finish. You also don’t have to spend time in looking for missing documents or sorting your documents. It doesn’t take up storage space and it is organized in the software. You won’t have to spend extra money to print, mail or fax them.
It gives you the confidence that everything has been filled out completely. Using a digital signature software will ensure that all fields have been complete – eliminating the time you have to call back your customers if they missed a field in the form. They would be no need to annoy them to complete the missing fields or resend the document back to the customer.
It enhances the customer experience because they can sign documents on their compatible device wherever they are at anytime. It’s also more convenient for them because it is faster and effortless.
The Cons of a Digital Signature
There are certain software can offer limited storage options. This is not very effective if you have a lot of customers. You have the choice to upgrade, but it would cost more.
You don’t have control with your customer’s data. Some software has a strict agreement that your customer’s data will be stored on a specific server and you can’t transfer your customers personal data. If it is all right with you that it is being stored in their server, make sure that they can handle the amount of data and that it complies with the standards of the Department of Defense.
Security issues. As mentioned earlier, make sure that that the documents are on a secure server. Although digital signatures have a high level of security, find out what are their security measures are.
Proprietary software. This is a type of software that does not provide their users (you) with access to the main source code. This means that it prohibits the use, distribution, copying or modification of the data. Make sure to read the software’s (Terms of Service) TOS and the EULA (End User License Agreement) before installing and using it. This also limits your chances of getting a different software because you are unable to make any changes to your customers data. If you want to make sure you have the freedom with your customers data, look for the ones that complies with Digital Signature Standards (DSS), which has been issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). To know more information, NIST’s website can be found here.
The Pros of a Digital Certificate
Digital certificates are also easier to do and are user-friendly. They can be set automatically without having the need for actual involvement for both you in the company and your customer.
Use of cryptographic hash. This is used for identification purposes. A cryptographic hash or a hash function provides a unique digital fingerprint. This process can verify if an email is genuine and complete.
Encryption is the most basic way for digital certificates to send your documents securely. You just need to use your public key to encode a message and your customer can decode it by using an encrypted email. It provides a two-way communication which gives you the confidence that only your customer can decode it.
Another form of encryption is the asymmetric encryption. You need to have two cryptographic keys, a public one and a private one. This is also called pairing. You need to have one key to encode and another key to decode. This is secure way to prove and identify the user online.
The most common advantage of a digital certificate is that they are inexpensive, which makes it a common reason why companies take advantage of it..
The top digital signature software normally has the SSL encryption protocol. This helps in preventing hackers in breaking into your secure session or your code. How does SSL encryption work? Whenever your customers connect to your secure server, they obtain your digital certificate. Once they have a copy, it compares it to the CA. When you have SSL, they will make sure that both certificates are current and that they match. If approved, it creates a one-time cryptographic key and encodes it using your public key. Your server then decodes the key once it receives it and would now be able to convey data for both parties. This is done everything a transaction is made.
The Cons of a Digital Certificate
There are constant updates when you’re using a digital certificate. These updates are made to make sure that their servers are secure but you need to make sure your devices are compatible with the latest updates. Although it takes a few minutes to update, it may cause you to lose time for catering to your customers.
We’ve mentioned earlier that most digital certificates are inexpensive. However, there are certain types of certificates that are costly because of the security measure added to it. Check each price of a digital certificate and what type to make sure you’re providing the best for your customers.
Digital certificates may have two different SSL implementations. This means that there are certain parts of your website that are not secure and have a higher chance to be hacked. You also need to make sure that you don’t have a complex proxy caching system on your website or else your encrypted content will not be cached. If you do have one, you may need to purchase a server that can facilitate the encryption before becomes cached in the system.
Compatibility. Not all digital certificates are compatible with mobile devices such as mobile smartphone or tablets. You may need to purchase additional devices. This will also be an inconvenience with your customers.
So there you have it. Both digital signature and digital certificates can be offered in the software. You’ll see a more detailed explanation of the pros and cons of certificates in SSL’s website here. Find out what in CrowdReviews’ reviews of digital signature software here.
Keith Moore
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