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SIgnature difference..

Bhumi (C.A.) (178 Points)

07 April 2011

hello... can anybody tell me what is the difference between electronic signature and digital signature as per ITAA,2008???

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Madhavi Naik ( ) (36 Points)
Replied 18 April 2011

Bhumi, The earlier IT Act had the concept of Digital Signature only which was replaced by Electronic Signature. Electronic Signature is a wider term which also includes Digital Signature. There some other differences relating to who can issue Digital Signature & Electronic Signature, etc. But this is the main difference.

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What is the difference between a digital signature and an electronic signature?

DIGITAL SIGNATURE

A digital signature, often referred to as advanced or standard
electronic signature, is a sub group within electronic signatures

· It provides the highest form of signature and content integrity as
well as universal acceptance.

· The digital signature is based on Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) and is a result of a cryptographic operation

· The digital signature cannot be
copied, tampered or altered.

· In addition, because they are based on
standard PKI technology, digital signatures made within one
application (e.g. Microsoft® Word, Adobe® PDF) can be validated by
others using the same applications.

· A Digital signature (standard electronic signature) takes the concept
of traditional paper-based signing and turn it into an electronic
"fingerprint.”.

· The digital signature ensures the authenticity of the signer.

· Any changes made to the document after it is signed invalidate the signature,
thereby protecting against signature forgery and information
tampering..

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

· An Electronic signature is a proprietary format

· there is no standard for electronic
signatures

· That is an electronic data, such as a digitized image of a
handwritten signature, a symbol, voiceprint, etc., that identifies the
author(s) of an electronic message.

· An electronic signature is vulnerable to copying and tampering, making forgery easy.

· In many cases, they are not legally binding and will require proprietary
software to validate the e-signature.

· An electronic signature is defined as an electronic sound (e.g., audio
files of a person's voice), symbol (e.g., a graphic representation of
a person in JPEG file), or process (e.g., a procedure that conveys
assent), attached to or logically associated with a record, and
executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.

· An electronic signature is easy to implement, since something as simple
as a typed name can serve as one.

· Consequently, e-signatures are very
problematic with regards to maintaining integrity and security, as
there is nothing to prevent one individual from typing another
individual's name.

· Due to this reality, an electronic signature that
does not incorporate additional measures of security (similar to a
digital signature, described above) are considered an insecure way of
signing documentation.