Electronic Signatures 

Many of our clients have expressed concerns about the use of digital signatures, mainly because you feel uncomfortable not being able to sign documents with your handwritten signature on a computer. 

To address these concerns, we’ve prepared this post to explain how digital signatures work and why your physical signature is not as crucial as you might think.

Understanding Digital Signatures

Let’s start with a bit of background. Digital signatures are not just a scanned image of your handwritten signature. They are a type of electronic signature that uses a specific technology to ensure the document’s integrity and authenticity. When you sign a document digitally, you use a unique code linked to your identity. This code is nearly impossible to forge, making digital signatures more secure than traditional handwritten ones.

The Role of the Audit Trail

The crucial feature of an electronic signature that often gets overshadowed is the audit trail. Understanding the audit trail is pivotal.

What is an Audit Trail?

An audit trail is a detailed record that tracks every action taken on a document. From the moment a document is sent for signing to the final approval, the audit trail logs every step, including timestamps, IP addresses, and user actions.

Imagine you’re sending an important contract for a signature. The audit trail records when you sent the contract, when the recipient opened it, when they signed it, and every interaction in between. 

It’s like having a security camera recording every action taken on the document, ensuring complete transparency and accountability.

The Value of an Audit Trail

Enhanced Security

An audit trail provides a transparent record of who signed and when. This helps verify the authenticity of the document and prevents fraud. 

With traditional signatures, it’s challenging to verify who actually signed a document, but with digital signatures, there’s a clear, verifiable record.

Regulatory Compliance

Many industries are governed by strict regulations, and an audit trail ensures compliance by providing a clear history of document handling. Whether for legal, financial, or healthcare documents, the audit trail ensures all actions are logged and verifiable.

Dispute Resolution

In the event of a dispute concerning the document, the audit trail serves as a reliable source of truth, showing exactly what happened and when. This can be crucial in legal disputes, where proving who signed what and when can make all the difference.

Operational Efficiency

By tracking each step, the workflow is streamlined, addressing bottlenecks or inefficiencies. This leads to faster and smoother processes. No more waiting days for a signed document to be mailed back; digital signatures make the process almost instantaneous.

Secure Data Transmission

When data is in transit between your device and the e-signature platform, it is encrypted using secure protocols that prevent unauthorised access during transmission. 

This encryption ensures that your sensitive information remains confidential and secure.

User Verification

To sign a document, a user needs to authenticate themselves through methods such as one-time passwords or multi-factor authentication, adding an extra layer of security. 

This verification process ensures that only authorized individuals can sign the document.

Why Your Physical Signature is Not That Important

While a handwritten signature might feel personal and familiar, it’s not necessarily the most secure or efficient method in today’s digital world. 

Digital signatures, backed by the robust audit trail, provide a higher level of security and accountability. They ensure that the signed document is tamper-proof and that all actions are recorded and verifiable.

By incorporating these security measures, e-signature platforms aim to protect your sensitive data and ensure that your electronic transactions are as secure, if not more so, than traditional paper-based processes.

Conclusion

Understanding the power of the audit trail in digital signatures can alleviate concerns about not using a physical signature. 

The audit trail offers unmatched security, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency, making digital signatures a reliable and safe option for modern document management.

I hope this explanation helps you feel more comfortable with digital signatures. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Written by Ashley Horwitz