According to figures from the Alliance for Digital Trust (ACN), the digital trust market today weighs 14.6 billion euros in turnover, growing by 7% between 2020 and 2021. 2,158 companies constitute this sector in France, but its impact goes far beyond this ecosystem.
At a time of dematerialization of exchanges with the State and soon of all B2B (Business-to-Business) invoices, digital trust and in particular the electronic signature has become the cornerstone of exchanges between companies in the European scale.
In this context, the eIDAS regulation introduces the notion of qualified electronic signature, which has the same legal level as the handwritten signature. In detail, however, the European text defines 3 levels for the electronic signature:
1. The simple electronic signature level. It has a very low level of complexity, which facilitates its adoption. Obviously, it does not enjoy a high level of reliability in the event of litigation, and can be easily falsified. This may be, for example, a signature drawn with the finger on a touch screen, or even a digitized image of the handwritten signature sent by e-mail. The checkbox used to accept the terms and conditions of a website is also a simple signature.
2. The advanced electronic signature level. This type of electronic signature is more secure and reliable than the simple signature. This type of signature makes it possible to identify the signatory with a certain certainty. And changes made to a document after signing are detected and displayed. In this case, the signature becomes invalid. What make this type of signature difficult to reject in court.
3. The level of qualified electronic signature. It is the only electronic signature to have the legal equivalent of a handwritten signature. And it guarantees by different systems the identity of the signatory with a very great certainty. However, it must be based on a qualified certificate linked to the identity of the signatory.
The European Commission has put an electronic signature validation service online for demonstration purposes. You can test it, but it is not recommended to submit a file containing sensitive data.
It is quite possible to freely choose your service provider in the Union, with the guarantee that the digital certificates and documents signed via its service will have proof value in all other European countries.
Finally, it should be remembered that digital identity is now the basis of other trust services, such as the electronic seal.