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Subject:Re: (Electronic) Signatures From:Dick Margulis <ampersandvirgule -at- WORLDNET -dot- ATT -dot- NET> Date:Thu, 5 Aug 1999 06:03:53 -0400
Sylvia Braunstein wrote:
>
> Our Company wishes to send out by e-mail signed documents files
> (Word97/Pdf, other?).
> What are the alternatives to add the signatures to the documents and how
> is it done?
> Do we have to scan the signatures?
> Thanks
> Sylvia
>
Heavens no! A scanned signature becomes a graphic that anyone can copy
and use. Therefore it carries no authentication value. (I use scanned
signatures in friendly letters from the CEO, for example, where it
conveys a tone of personalization; but these are things like "Welcome to
our open house" flyers, not official documents.)
The whole point, as I understand it, of electronic signature is
authentication at a distance, not simulation of handwriting. The
"signature" is therefore an aspect of a secure transaction. In low-risk,
unregulated environments, an email header, with timestamps and routing
information may suffice. In regulated environments (medical equipment,
nuclear power, ... ) I suspect you would need a secure transaction
server, although there may now be special-purpose software directed at
the electronic signature market.
In the middle ground, any system that is tied to apassword-protected
user login would probably suffice.
