Authenticated digital signatures can be a valuable part of your cyber security approach. At DFK Benjamin King Money (DFK BKM) we find digital signatures are more efficient than printing, signing, and scanning documents and provide one-off encryption for the highest level of security. In fact, they are more secure than a handwritten signature, and are also better for the environment!

If you have a lot of documents that require signing within your business, whether internally or externally, using a digital signature app will streamline your workflow and make managing the signing of documents more accessible. Documents are also secured against manipulation after they have been signed.

However, not all digital signatures have the same level of verification and cyber safety.

It’s important to understand the difference between electronic and secure digital signatures. For example, you can scan your signature, save it as an image file, and attach it to documents. This is an electronic signature but not an authenticated digital signature and is easily copied and hacked.

An authenticated signature includes unique digital verification that uses public-key cryptography technology within the signature. So, the signature comes with encrypted authorisation embedded in it, and it’s virtually impossible to hack.

Digital signatures also provide an audit trail of the signature process – from sending the document to when it’s read and signed and sent back to the document owner. Once you’ve created a document and sent it for signing, you can see outstanding documents at a glance and send reminders from within the platform.

There are many options available for authenticated digital signatures. Look at DocuSign, Adobe or Secured Signing to start with, and ask others in your industry if they use a solution they would recommend.

Check their level of encrypted security and audit trail functions. Most are very simple to use, requiring nothing more than opening an account, uploading documents, and sending. The recipient may need to create an account, but some apps use a code sent separately to sign the document without the recipient needing their own account.

Talk to your IT provider if you’d like to learn more about how your business can stay cyber-safe and secure.