Do you know what the digitized signature is used for? Digital technology is constantly being renewed and changing the way entities carry out their ordinary activities. In this context, the digitized signature has the advantage of allowing a signature to be stamped quickly and easily on a digital document, even though it offers a very low level of security.
In this context we will define what the digitized signature is, how you can use it and why we recommend the use of other more secure signature solutions.
What is a digitized signature?
The digitized signature is the most basic and primitive version of the digital signature. It is the typical signature made on a sheet of paper that is then scanned and embedded in the document. It can also be done with the mouse or trackpad, saving the image on the device in .jpg or .png format so that it can be used whenever necessary. In addition, there are very intuitive free mobile applications designed for this purpose.
We can consider it a simple type of electronic signature, since it does not collect enough evidence to identify the signer. We can use it in simple documents, that is, in those that are not really important, as it is a less secure option than other alternatives, since anyone can supplant it.
Increased usability at the sacrifice of security
Once we have understood the concept of digitized signatures, we can see that they are very easy to forge. To tell the truth, nowadays and unfortunately, the user gives more priority to the usability and comfort of the solutions and downplays the importance of the level of security they offer, which makes this type of signature the most used by most citizens to sign any type of electronic document.
That said, despite the disadvantages just mentioned, it is still admissible in court today because the established requirements for simple electronic signatures are met.
From Viafirma we recommend other mechanisms to sign documents in a legal and secure way that allow to identify and link the signer in an unequivocal way.
Differences with other types of signature
Below we will review some of the most commonly used types of signatures for online transactions:
- Digital signature: Set of encrypted data that we add to a document that certifies that the person validating it is who he/she claims to be.
- Electronic signature: Data in electronic format that accompanies certain information and attests to the signatory’s will. It is a fairly broad concept because different systems can be used to implement it.
- Digital certificate: Personal computer file issued by a trusted third party that has validated the user’s identity in order to sign or carry out online procedures.
Special electronic signature platforms, security in all your operations.
A good digital transformation strategy is key to helping a company grow in the future. Precisely, one of the basic elements of this strategy is the use of electronic signatures. Following the guidelines of the eIDAS Regulation, from Viafirma we have developed other alternatives with the aim of making them legally binding, with a high evidentiary burden and admissible in any court of law.
The following are some of the mechanisms available in our solutions:
- Biometric signature: The best alternative to digitized signatures. It is the handwritten signature that is made on tablets or pads by means of a precision pen capable of collecting biometric data.
- OTP SMS: Associated with the sending of a code via SMS to the signatory’s cell phone number, allowing the signatory to validate a document from anywhere.
- Signature with digital certificate: The user must have a certificate issued by a trusted service provider through which the signature itself and its identity are validated.
- Signature in the cloud: The user will be able to use his certificate hosted in a secure server (HSM), being able to access it from any device every time he wants to sign a document digitally.
Definitely, it is not comparable the legal validity of a handwritten signature that has been scanned and captured in a document with the one that has been made by means of special electronic signature platforms such as the ones offered by Viafirma.