Over the past several years, the use of the Internet has blossomed, and e-commerce has become a buzzword used by young and old alike. The use of the Internet is rapidly increasing. Whether it's getting their groceries delivered or obtaining financing for a house, consumers can now perform numerous transactions online. However, there is one thing that makes this process a little cumbersome. Business transactions require contracts, and contracts require signatures that are legally binding in a court of law. Thus, even though people can submit forms and applications online, they have to wait for "original" documents to come in the mail, sign them, and mail them back. Even though this process is time consuming it provides the one thing that is important to all transactions: authentication.
One solution to this problem of authentication is called "digital signatures." A digital signature is not a digital replica of your handwritten signature. Instead, digital signatures make use of current encryption technologies to produce a mark that is unique to you. The technologies would use a mathematical procedure to produce a "garbage" string of letter and numbers. An authentication program is used to read the signature and to verify that it is your unique signature. A digital signature may look like figure 1.
Fig. 1 - A Digital Signature
IQA/AsWENE1MH/ujPOnt65fsheZAZmSY3TxosIQ01WMDjb9E+QA7Jlk=q18+
Legislation and Digital Signatures
President Clinton signed The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act on June 30th. This new federal legislation established the validity of digital signatures. Although, the legislation leaves a great many details to be filled in later, it contains the key element that was not covered by law until now. Individuals now can enter into contract using only the Internet. The law also states that legally recognized digital signatures can be used to verify a person's identity, confirm the integrity of electronic documents, and provide irrefutable time stamps. Legal experts say that the new law is more than enough to get electronic commerce accelerating at light speed. They applauded the bill's vagueness about specific technologies because it allows for unfettered development. The bill will be phased in over the next 12 to 18 months
Two Types of Digital Signatures
There are presently two distinct technologies that support digital signatures. They are public key cryptography and signature dynamics. Public key signatures are instantly verifiable using only specialized software. This type of signature can be used to make online purchases. Signature dynamics signatures require specialized hardware as well as software. It takes several steps to verify this type of signature.
