Advantages Of The Electronic Digital Signature For Companies

The digital signature has become the most common, efficient and necessary document verification mechanisms for many procedures. We tell you what it is and what its benefits are. 

What Is The Digital Signature? 

The digital signature is defined as a series of electronic data associated with an electronic document. 

In the same way that written signatures must be non-transferable and unforgeable, the digital signature is associated with a secret key exclusively linked to a person due to the specific graphology of each person.  

Thus, the digital signature is a cryptographic mechanism that, through algorithms, generates a unique signature for each person.

The digital signature is regulated through Law 59/2003 on Electronic Signature. In this way, Spanish legislation gives legal equality to the electronic signature compared to the handwritten one.

The main functions of the digital signature are:

• Identify the person who signs without equivocation.

• Guarantee that the signed document has not been altered or tampered with compared to the signed original. These is essential given the editing capabilities that exist in the electronic document format.

• Ensure that the signer cannot deny or repudiate the later signed document, claiming that it is not his signature. 

How Does The Digital Signature Work? 

The digital signature is attached to the digital certificate or electronic DNI. Thus, these documents contain the unique cryptographic keys necessary to use the signature, so that they unequivocally identify a person. 

You must contact the Certification Service to enter the information. These electronic issue certificates in a secure and trustworthy way and are included in a list by Spain’s Government. 

There are two ways to create a signature.

• Download the AutoFirma application from the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations on the computer equipment that the user has. These means that it is not necessary to be connected to the internet to generate the signature. 

Sign up for an online application or applications, the VALID service is used, which works in the internet browser. 

Then, the process to use the electronic signature consists of the following steps: 

1. It begins with a user who has, on the one hand, his electronic certificate and, on the other hand, an electronic document that he wishes to sign. The digital signature can be applied to documents in various formats, including a spreadsheet, a PDF, or an image.

2. The digital signature makes a unique summary of the document to be signed so that any modification of the form would cause an improvement of the resume. Thus, it is possible to guarantee that the record has not been modified after signing. 

3. The application uses the user’s private key to encrypt the document.
    
4. In this way, an electronic form is generated that has the password of the signing user. The digital signature is considered to be the document resulting from this process, and it is what should be kept (photos of this or screenshots do not work).

Advantages Of The Digital Signature In Companies

Having a digital signature simplifies many daily procedures in a company’s reality and allows them to be carried out online, without the need to travel. 

In this way, it entails multiple benefits when carrying out standard procedures with public administrations, such as the Income Declaration or the request for documents such as working life.

Besides, it allows to simplify other procedures in the field of business, such as signing documents (contracts, invoices). 

In short, having a digital signature is an essential step for any company or self-employed person that seeks to shorten procedures to focus on growing their business.