The digital era has brought with it a revolution in the way digital signatures and everything related to information and documents work. In the business and legal sphere, the need to sign contracts, agreements and other records persists, but pen and paper are being robustly replaced by an innovative technology: digital signature.
In this article, we will cover all the basics behind digital signing, unraveling the key elements that make this method secure and reliable. Let's go?
The rise of digital signatures in the business world
As companies seek to optimize processes and speed up transactions, digital signature emerges as an essential tool, providing an efficient and secure approach to dealing with formality documentary.
The growing dependence on the digital environment and the search for more agile solutions have driven the widespread adoption of digital signatures in business scenarios.
As digitalization continues to shape the corporate landscape, the digital signature market is establishing itself as an indispensable ally in the relentless search for innovation and operational efficiency. Proof of this is that, According to research, it will grow almost 30% by 2030, reaching the mark of 40,23 billion dollars.
And what is a digital signature?
Digital signature is an advanced form of electronic authentication that uses encryption to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of digital documents.
Unlike a paper signature, it is based on complex cryptographic engineering, using public and private keys.
It also uses digital certificates: seals of authenticity that validate the link between the public key and the signatory's identity, giving the digital signature legal reliability.
How does digital signature work?
The technical functioning of digital signatures involves the use of cryptographic algorithms and the generation of key pairs, along with the use of hash functions to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of documents. Check it out below.
1. Key pair generation
The process begins with the creation of a pair of asymmetric keys: one private and one public. These keys, generated by specific algorithms, have a unique mathematical relationship. The private key is kept confidential, while the public key can be shared.
2. Association with identity
The holder of the private key can associate it with an identity through a digital certificate issued by a Certification Authority (CA): a kind of “seal of approval” of the authenticity of the public key and, by extension, the digital signature.
3. Hash generation
When signing a digital document, the signer uses a hash function on the file contents. The document data is transformed into a fixed-length string of characters, called a hash. Even minimal changes to the document generate significantly different hashes, ensuring the integrity of the content.
4. Signing with the private key
The signer's private key is used to sign the generated hash. This creates a unique digital signature for that specific document. The signature is essentially a sequence of bytes that, when decrypted with the corresponding public key, can be verified as authentic.
5. Inclusion of the signature in the document
The digital signature, along with the digital certificate (if applicable), is then incorporated into the document. This inclusion can take different forms depending on the file format, but generally involves adding metadata that represents the signature.
6. Signature Verification
The document receiver uses the signatory's public key to decipher the digital signature, thus recovering the original hash. It then applies the same hash function to the document content and compares the hashes. If they are identical, the signature is considered valid.
How digital signatures differ
The primary distinction of the digital signature lies in some fundamental pillars to ensure the security, authenticity and legal validity of electronically signed documents.
Cryptography
Digital signature uses asymmetric encryption with private and public keys. The private key creates the signature, while the public key verifies authenticity. The process also involves hash functions, ensuring uniqueness and, thus, the integrity of the signed document.
Digital certificate
The digital certificate validates the signatory's identity, ensuring the legitimacy of the signature. It also provides legal backing by establishing a chain of trust from the Certificate Authority to the signer.
Security and non-repudiation
Digital signature security is enhanced by asymmetric encryption and hash functions, making forgery difficult. The presence of the digital certificate strengthens non-repudiation, preventing the signatory from denying the signature, as the association with their identity is validated by the certificate.
⚠️ Also check out these related articles 👇
➡️ Learn how to sign with a digital certificate
➡️ Understand what a digital signature verifier is for
➡️ What is a digital contract and how to adopt one for your company
Digitally signing Word and PDF files
To sign documents in Word, native resources or external tools, integrated with cloud storage platforms, can be used.
For PDF documents, Adobe Acrobat is the most common, allowing the creation and application of signatures through the “Tools” and “Sign & Certify” options.
Platforms online also offer similar services, facilitating the process by uploading the document.
Signing digitally via WhatsApp
To sign via WhatsApp, you must have a scanned version of the document. Using a digital signature tool, the signature is created and saved as an image. This image can be sent via WhatsApp to the person responsible for the signature, who incorporates it into the digital document using appropriate tools.
Although WhatsApp does not have specific functionality for digital signatures, this method is practical, as long as both parties confirm the authenticity and agree to the use of the image in the legal context of the region. The use of reliable tools is essential to ensure process safety.
How to make a digital signature using ZapSign
ZapSign has a own digital signature platform. With a simple, intuitive and highly uncomplicated interface, the tool offers a solution capable of simplifying the entire process of signing electronic documents.
Below, a step-by-step guide with everything about how to make digital signature by ZapSign.
Step 1 – Log into the system
First, you must access the Our site, and inform your login and password, to then be forwarded to the main page.
Step 2 – Generate a new document
On the ZapSign dashboard, click the “NEW” button to go to the next screen and generate a new document.
Step 3 – Upload the .PDF file
By clicking on “select document”, you will be able to upload the document to be signed. This document must be in format PDF.
Step 4 – Sign with digital certificate
Select the “Advanced Authentication” option after uploading the file.
Enter the names of the signatories in the field below “Who will sign”. If the signatories are already added to your contact list, click on the “Contacts” option to select and insert them. This option is located below the area for entering the names of signatories.
Tap the “Authentication Method” option and “Digital Certificate”.
Step 5 – Add your own signature to the document
If your own signature is also required for document validation, click on the “I will sign” option, enter your name there and tap on the “Continue” button to proceed to the next screen.
Step 6 – Sort between subscriptions and visas
Position the places on the document where signatures and visas should be inserted by clicking on the chosen space, right after the signatory's name, and choosing between signature or visa.
Click on “Save and Continue”.
Step 7 – Generate and send the subscription links
If contact with your signatory is made via WhatsApp, you must click on the button with the app's logo and send the link directly to the person.
If the chosen medium is another, no problem: just go to the blue icon next to the link to copy it and, later, paste it wherever you prefer.
The option to send your document by email is also available. In this case, tap the “Enable automatic email sending” option and enter the email addresses of the people who will subscribe.
Step 8 – Sort the signatories
If it is necessary to establish a specific order for the signatures, this can be easily done using the “Order signatures” button. This way, the order will be defined by dragging the names of the signatories on the screen to the appropriate positions. Each signatory will only receive their notification email, advising them to sign the document, when the previous signatory has already signed it.
Step 9 – Finish the procedure
Finally, you can create a personalized message to be sent along with the notification email, in addition to activating notifications with reminders for those who have not yet subscribed.
Click “Send and finish” and that’s it! The document was generated and sent to the respective signatories.
From there, you can follow the progress of the signatures, as your signers open the link and sign the file.
Step 10 – Your signers sign the document
Each signatory must click on the document's signature link, read it very carefully and, in agreement with its terms, click on the “Sign” option.
Some information from the signatory will be requested for the purpose of verifying their identity: full name, email and telephone number.
Then, they must click on “Continue” and sign with their finger, mouse, capacitive pen or in the way that best suits the device used.
By tapping “Finish”, the signature will appear at the end of the document, in the signature report, and also in other places where you have placed it.
By following the 10 steps in this guide, you will have no difficulty using our platform perfectly.
If you're ready to simplify and improve the digital signature process for your documents, ZapSign is available to help. Click here to speak to one of our consultants and discover the solutions that will make your experience more efficient and safe.
