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E-signature XML
articles,
How
usable is a
digital signature in the Netherlands?
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The E-signature XML articles bill has finally
become law in the Netherlands, placing the digital signature on an
equal
legal footing with its old-fashioned, handwritten equivalent. But how
useful is it in practice? Not to be confused with scanned-in copy of an
ink-on-paper signature, an E-signature XML articles and software uses cryptography and
information technology (IT) to uniquely identify the sender of an
electronic message or document, guaranteeing that senders of such
messages really are who they claim to be. The unique identification
number (the e-signature), which is linked to a particular person, has to
be issued by a certification service provider (CSP), a so-called trusted
third party. Furthermore, Dutch law stipulates that the e-signature is
only valid if it is stored on a chip-card, which subsequently handles
the authentication, E-signature XML articles encryption and
insertion processes.
E-signature XML
articles,
ICT-services company
and currently the only Dutch authorised CSP, puts the cost of the
chipcard at over E100, and that does not include the price of a
chipcard reader.
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To aggravate E-signature XML articles matters even further, the
Dutch authorities are waiting for the private sector (presumably) to
drum up enough critical mass before they themselves will consider
allowing the use of e-signatures when, for example, requesting a
passport or other legal documents. In the meantime, another Dutch ICT
company has come up with a novel digital-signature solution for
just E30 a year. It uses computer software to create an
esignature,
which is subsequently stored on the user's computer and deployed, for
example, in e-mail for validating addresses of incoming mail (free
e-mail addresses, like Microsoft's Hotmail, are not accepted). They
also allows its license to be shared with the holder's family and
friends, thus creating a secure communicating group. According to them
all of this will lower the entry threshold of E-signature XML
articles and promote
its use.
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