Are electronic signatures safe? The number of electronic signing options to choose from has multiplied in the past few years. More and more businesses are using electronic signatures. The use of different solutions may cause you to question if your data, your documents, and your signatures are safe. It’s essential to make the right selection when choosing a provider, so read on to discover what makes DocuSign eSignature safe, compliant and legally binding.
Electronic Signature Security
It’s important to use an electronic signature solution that protects you and creates documents that you can trust. Our electronic signature solution permit a range of methods for identifying and authenticating signers. This range of different signature types meets International electronic signature law and EU directives. Find out more about how DocuSign eSignature works.
Are Electronic Signatures Safe?
DocuSign follows a compliance process to keep documents and electronic signatures safe, which may not be the case with all providers. As a platform, we adhere to tight data protection protocols to ensure information processes with the system are safe, but not all electronic signature solutions follow the same process.
How does DocuSign keep electronic signatures safe?
- DocuSign authenticates the signer’s identity, so electronic signatures are not forged.
- The DocuSign signature documents are linked to the signer minimally via an email address, an IP address, or other information. You can click the signature to validate.
- You can’t change the contents of the agreement after it has been signed. Any changes are flagged for all signing parties to see.
- There is an audit trail generated for each document that captures everything that happens to the document with time and date stamps.
- ISO 27001 certified, DocuSign provides bank-grade security and assurance.
- DocuSign’s Certificate of Completion is court-admissible and contains an audit trail of signee’s email addresses, timestamps and IP address.
Beware of non-compliant signature apps
We’ve tested other applications and many simply ‘paste’ an image into a PDF. The problem is that this creates a document that has no real value. Why isn’t this safe? The document is not linked to any assurance that it was signed by a particular person or any ‘proof’ to make the signature legally binding.
Even worse, you can modify the content of the document after they have been signed and nobody else would be able to tell. This process could put you, your team and your signatures at risk.
Consider this example. Someone could take a photo of your signature on a paper document (or out of your email if you are so kind as to put it there for them) and simply ‘upload’ that image into one of these apps. Then they can create a contract, say you agreed to pay them £5,000 and try to collect it. What evidence is there that you signed, or that you didn’t and that they created the agreement fraudulently? Now, what do you do?
Using an app like these is dangerous because you cannot claim that one document should be deemed reliable. Then request another one constructed the same way, should not be. They don’t offer as much protection to the signer or the content.
Electronic signature vs handwritten signature
Wait a minute; why not just write a signature on paper by hand? Nowadays, an electronic signature is more widely accepted than a handwritten signature because there are layers of security and authentication. eSignature carries layers of information about who signed what and where and when they signed it. A handwritten signature can be easily copied or tampered with, but an electronic signature that follows security protocols can’t. Find out more about the differences between an electronic signature and a handwritten signature.
What makes an electronic signature legal?
The ‘eIDAS regulation’, which came into force on 1 July 2016 ensures electronic signatures are legally binding. This EU regulation means that any electronic document you send between two EU countries is safe, legally compliant, and regulated. The regulation EU No. 910/2014 allows members of the EU to conduct seamless transactions across countries.
Are electronic signatures legal in the UK?
The short and simple answer is ‘Yes.’ The Law Commission of England and Wales has formally ruled that electronic signatures can be used to sign formal legal contracts under English law.
Law Commissioner Stephen Lewis said,
“Contract law in the UK is flexible, but some businesses are still unsure if electronic signatures would satisfy legal requirements. We can confirm that they do.”
The Law Commission published an electronic document report on September 4th 2019 confirming that electronic signatures are legally binding across the board including for deeds and for government documents. Even law firms and legal teams are using electronic signatures.
Which electronic signature solutions are safe?
If you care about your signature, be sure to use an electronic signature solution that protects you, and creates documents you can trust. A good solution will protect you from unwanted changes after you sign. It will also ensure there is an audit trail and will authenticate a signer’s identity to offer vital security and protection. DocuSign provides all of these attributes, and more.