Pratik Kirve
There will be a day when people would look back in time and remember the days when they used the paper signatures to validate legal documents, activate credit cards, and sign an agreement. The digitalization has changed every aspect of our lives and it was inevitable that people had to let go of paper signature and welcome e-signatures.
As the digital signatures are secured through asymmetric cryptography, it offers an extra layer of security compared to the paper signature. Moreover, electronic documents are secured using various processes of encryption at the sender’s end and the receiver must be authorized to decrypt the data, which makes digital signature the most secure alternative to the conventional methods. The growing need for data security and authentication due to surge in cyberattacks, high acceptance of e-signatures in the internal processes in companies, and reduction in costs have boosted the growth of the digital signature market. According to a research firm, Allied Market Research, the global digital signature market is expected to reach $3.44 billion by 2022.
Indian firm become part of Cloud Signature Consortium
The euphoria of digital signature has entered in the developed countries such as India. Recently, eMudhra, an Indian digital identity and transaction management solution firm, announced that now it has become a member of cloud signature consortium (CSC).
CSC is a group of industries and academic organizations that aspire to build a new standard for cloud-based digital signatures that could support mobile and website applications and comply with the necessary e-signature regulations in the world. V Srinivasan, the Founder & Chairman of eMudhra, stated, “We are proud to be a member of CSC and this will drive us to think outside the box and empower to push harder in helping global firms to adopt cloud-based signature initiatives.”
Dropbox partners with HelloSign
The well-known file hosting service providers, Dropbox, recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire HelloSign, an e-signature and document workflow platform that caters more than 80,000 customers. Together the companies want to deliver an improved experience to the global users of Dropbox and simplify their workflows.
Drew Houston, the Co-Founder and CEO of Dropbox, stated, “We have over an exabyte of data on our platform as millions of consumers use Dropbox as a secure place to collaborate on their vital content. By teaming up with HelloSign, we are adding more capabilities to our existing products that users love.”
Most of life’s most important decisions need signing documents. From opening some investment account at a bank to buying a house and to hiring a new employee, every agreement is fulfilled with a signature. However, even in the digital world, millions of people rely to pen and paper to complete such tasks. However, Dropbox believes that with the simplicity of HelloSign’s products, e-signatures would become a day-to-day thing, helping customers close deal fasters and complete documents without errors.
Future of the digital signature market
- Artificial intelligence will play its part
On the internet, even the major firms have to rely on e-signature and there are various ways to forge a digital signature. However, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), it is possible to stop bots impersonating as humans. If we use social media applications, smartphone camera, and any other applications that work with digital content and incorporate it with AI, it possible to know whether the signed document is authentic or not. There are already various computational methods to support reliable e-signature, but they are not yet seamless to ubiquitous use. However, pairing with AI, it is possible to launch a digital signature on a global level.
- Digital signature and blockchain
Blockchain has entered in every sector that requires digital security. It is a novel system for linking multiple groups of record into a chain, which is encrypted and has layers of protection to deal with tampering. The blockchain uses the concept of hash that is a unique number that depicts the contents of data such as a PDF version of the signed contract. The popularity of hash is undying as it requires two pieces: the data and hash to check if they are the same. Moreover, even if someone creates a duplicate version of a signed PDF, it will not match with hash, making it easier to spot a forgery. Thus, even if there are multiple copies of documents different signatures, with the help of blockchain, you can always find the original copy and assess its validity.
With the advancements in technology, it has become possible and easier to increase the authentication of the digital signature. Although people still believe in the paper signature, it is undeniable that digital signatures offer better odds to fight with forgers. The advent of AI and blockchain in the e-signature market has proven that the era of digital signature has just begun and soon it will a norm.
