The Online Digital Signature Way

21 March 2018

Question: What is most important when selecting an e-signature platform?

Answer: Firstly, congratulations for deciding to ditch paper signatures and implementing an e-Signatures solution. Your team and customers will thank you when they experience first-hand the increased efficiency and improved customer experience as a result of a digital signing solution.

Now, it’s important to understand that e-Signatures solutions are not created equal! The biggest difference to understand is what technology they use, even if you are not a tech expert. Not all signing solutions meet the requirements set out in the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act 2000("ESIGN"), which made signed electronic contracts and documents as legally binding as a paper-based contract. For more information on this check our legal page.

We’ve listed our 5 must have features you should have when selecting an online signing platform

1.  Solution that uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Standard for signing. – This digital signature technology provides unique signing keys for each signatory. The user based digital signatures solution seals and protects your electronic document with the first signature. X509 Standard also allows for independent vendor solution for self-verification of signatures at your work station. You are not reliant on a single signing platform to validate signatures. This means you are not locked into one provider forever. 
2. Date and Time Stamp – ensure your eSignature platform includes a date and time stamp for each signature. This is an important requirement used to evidence when the signing took place exactly
3.  Audit log – look for a detailed audit trail of the signing process and one that is sent to all parties involved as soon as the document has been signed. The registered information gives a precise reference to verify activities and time frames related to the signing of documents and sensitive data. An audit trail report can be used as a proof for review purposes, and in case of a dispute.
4. Tracks changes – don’t be exposed, ensure the Digital Signature solution automatically detects any changes made to the document after signing and immediately invalidates the signatures. It should also promptly notify all parties involved.
5. Video Confirmation – Video Confirmation provides the highest confidence in the identity of the signer as it provides unchallengeable proof of who signed the document. The video recording captures the signer performing gesture specific to the document which is recorded in the audit log. The location and password for the confirmation video are contained in the signed document.

For more important features, check out our website www.securedsigning.com .

Till next time,

John Webster

15 November 2017,

Many of our customers have asked us how do you know who signed the document? Who was behind the keyboard?

With security features such as two factor authentications, identification verification and SMS passcode, Secured Signing offers multiple levels of security to identify the signer.

Personalised PKI X509 Digital Signature technology means that once a document has been signed the document content is sealed and any changes to the document it will invalidate the signature.

To provide additional evidence to prove exactly who was behind the keyboard / device during the signing ceremony, we have created video confirmation as an add on feature, this records the person who is signing the document.

So how does video confirmation work?

To enable video confirmation with Secured Signing, you simply tick the box to add video confirmation to the signing process and the signee will be asked to record a video.

It will activate the camera device and will capture a short video of the signer and require unique confirmation gestures to be met. The video has a unique URL link and to watch the video you have to enter a password. These 2 elements are embedded in the document and become part of the document itself.

After signing you can watch the video and compare the person in the video with other forms of identification. Video confirmation provides you with additional evidence to prove the signers identity in case of a dispute.

Digital Signature with Video confirmation provides the strongest digital signature solution in the market. Secured Signing are the first in the world to combines both technologies.

With Secured Signing’s trusted digital Signature solution, you will have peace of mind that you are signing digitally in the most secure way. 

As always, if you have specific questions, please get in touch and someone will contact you personally.  

'Til next time

John Webster

June 6, 2017

Financial services companies must know who is signing their documents. If there is any doubt that the correct person has signed the loan, agreement, authority to proceed, or whatever the document may be, the business leaves itself open to fraud, is exposed to unnecessary risk and faces the possibility of loss, not to mention becoming non-compliant with 'Know Your Customer' legislative requirements. Secured Signing provides the most robust verification of signer identity with the world first use of video confirmation as part of the signing process.

Online signing by its nature provides much stronger confirmation of who is signing your documents than simply sending documents by post or email and taking it on faith they have been signed by the correct person. The addition of video recording of the signer, in a way that is uniquely and irrevocably tied to the document being signed, provides a degree of confidence in signer identity that cannot be reasonably challenged. It is a genuinely innovative approach that provides a degree of confidence in identity that is unmatched by any other signing method. It builds on the already robust authenticity of the underlying PKI Based digital signatures used by Secured Signing and existing additional identity verification tools such as two factor authentication and identity document searches.

Let's drill into how the process works to really appreciate how robust and reliable this new approach is.

Video confirmation is quick and simple for the signer. They are asked to activate the camera on their device and record themselves performing specific gestures. It takes less than 10 seconds. The required gestures are specific to the document being signed, recorded in the document log and are analysed in real time. The nature of the verification and the changing requirements make it impossible to pass the verification using an image or pre-recorded video. Video confirmation provides much stronger confirmation of identity than static biometric verification such as facial or fingerprint recognition.

The confirmation video is retained in a secure, encrypted repository. The signed document contains both a reference to the location of the video confirmation and the password required to access it. The tamper proof mechanisms inherent in PKI based digital signatures means neither the reference nor the password can be modified, without invalidating the signature. All documents signed with Secured Signing can be verified independently to confirm the document content is unchanged. Video confirmation enhances the inherent security and authenticity of PKI based digital signatures with the recorded video of the person signing the document.

Video confirmation is available to all Secured Signing customers now. Once enabled in My Settings, the option to require a signer to provide video confirmation is available on the signing workflow screen. You can try Secured Signing, including video confirmation of identity for free.  Register for your account now.

'Til next time
Cheers, John