How to sign documents electronically and is it possible to do this?
In our age of computer technology, the so-called electronic digital signature or abbreviated EDS has begun to be used to certify documents. However, in this matter, many do not have a clear understanding of why this is necessary, because most are accustomed to working the old fashioned way, signing documents manually. We will discuss later how to sign documents electronically.
What is an electronic digital signature or EDS?
An electronic digital signature is a certain object in electronic form, by which you can immediately identify the person who generated it, establish authorship, check the authenticity of the document, etc.
Naturally, visually, an electronic digital signature may look like an ordinary signature in the form of a graphic object inserted into a document. In fact, asymmetric encryption and cryptography algorithms are at work here. The digital signature itself uses a private key and a key certificate, which makes it possible to determine the authorized person and the identity of the signature, the integrity of the document and confirmation of the fact of its signing.
Why should you sign documents with digital signature?
Many people are somewhat perplexed about whether it is necessary and whether it is possible to sign documents with an electronic signature. This question can only be answered in the affirmative. For a simplified understanding, let's look at one example.
Suppose a company, represented by its CEO, must draw up a bilateral contract. It is clear that it will have to be visaed in any case, since without this it will not have legal force. But sending a completed contract, say, by fax turns out to be impossible. When sending by email, the graphic format of a scanned document is not recommended, because the signature can be forged. Thus, you have to send the same Word file, but this is the document that must be signed. But how to sign a Word document with an electronic signature? In general, there is nothing particularly difficult about this. Next, we will consider several simple methods for creating digital signatures. For now, let's focus on legal issues.
Do I need to sign electronically signed documents manually?
Many office workers and managers believe that it is necessary to additionally (manually) endorse documents containing digital signatures (so to speak, just in case). Clearly misleading. This is completely optional.
The fact is that when creating a digital signature and certificate, a special agreement is drawn up with a certification center and certified by a notary, and at the stage of generating the certificate, a private key is issued. From a legal point of view, this is confirmation of the owner of the digital signature. Thus, the conclusion suggests itself: secondary sighting is not necessary.
Algorithm for working with digital signature
Let's find out how to sign a document with an electronic digital signature and look at how it all works.
Such processes are based on the creation of a cryptogram that hashes the certified file, determining the owner's data, authorship and data integrity. At the next stage, the created hash is encrypted using a private key, after which either a whole document with digital signature or a separate signature file linked to the document is generated.
The recipient uses the public key to decrypt, authenticate, and verify the integrity of the document. Of course, in general terms, most algorithms are very similar to each other. The difference may only appear depending on the type of software used.
How to sign a Word document with an electronic signature using the editor?
Many users do not even realize that digital signatures can be created quite simply even in the office Word editor. How to sign a Word document with an electronic signature? As easy as pie. The actions in different versions of the editor are slightly different, but in general the essence is the same. Let's look at creating a signature using Word 2007 as an example.
So, how do you sign documents electronically using only Word? To do this, after placing the cursor in the place where the signature is supposed to be placed, the insert menu is used, in which the text item is selected. Then you should find the signature line item and set the MS Office signature line.
In the settings dialog box, you need to specify the information of the person signing the document, then select a scan of the original signature, and then enter your own name in the field next to the “x” icon. After this, a printed version of the signature will be displayed.
On a tablet with handwriting input, you can sign it yourself. If you need to sign a document on behalf of more than one person, you will need to configure the signature fields for each person.
You can do it even simpler by selecting the “Prepare” line in the “Office” button menu, then specify adding a signature, then use the purpose of signing the document, then select a signature, and finally, select the “Sign” item. The signing will be confirmed by a red icon appearing on the panel and an inscription stating that the document contains an electronic signature.
The most popular tools for creating digital signatures
Now let's see what could be the solution to the problem of how to sign a document. For this, it is advisable to use third-party software.
Among Russian-language software, the most popular and most widespread are the following software packages:
- "CryptoARM";
- "Crypto PRO";
- "CryptoTree".
The first program looks like the simplest, so we will further discuss how to sign documents with an electronic signature using it.
Creation of digital signature using the example of the CryptoARM application
There are two methods to create a digital signature using this application: using the context menu and performing actions through the main interface of the program. For a simpler understanding of the process, we will focus on the first option, especially since the second is almost identical, only the main action is called directly from the program. Let's say you need to digitally sign a Word document.
First, in Explorer, you need to select the document you are interested in and select the “Sign” line in the RMB menu. After this, the “Wizards” window will appear, which will help you perform all further actions. Click the continue button and check if the file is selected. If necessary, you can add several more objects to sign them simultaneously.
Click the “Next” button again and in the next window select the encoding method. In principle, you can not change anything and leave the default settings. In the next step, you can enter additional data (time stamp, visa, etc.). Along the way, you can check the box to save the signature as a separate object (both files will be required when later checking the signature in the document). If you do not check this box, the signature file will be merged with the document.
After continuing, you will need to select a certificate that was issued by the appropriate certification authority (it can be located on external eToken media or registered in the system registry). After this, the remaining parameters can be left unchanged. After completing all the steps, all you have to do is click the “Finish” button.
Note: if a separate file is selected for signing, as a rule, it will be located in the same directory as the original document being signed and will have a SIG extension.
Features of signing PDF, HTML and XML documents
Finally, a few words about other formats. In principle, for PDF documents the steps will be the same, however, due to the specifics of other Adobe programs, it is advisable to separate the signature file from the main document.
A situation is possible when the recipient of a document first wants to familiarize itself with its contents, using the same Acrobat (Reader) for this, and only then begins to check the signature. By the way, some Adobe applications also allow you to sign files using their own standard means.
If you embed a signature in HTML documents when working with thin clients, you will need to click “Sign and Send” in the browser, after which the developer’s script will be activated, generating a string variable with document verification data, which will be entered into a special hidden field, signed and transferred to the server using the POST method. This will be followed by verification of the document and signature, after which a table will be generated on the server with the fields of the signed document itself and its digital signature.
You can sign like regular documents, use the InfoPath Office tool, or create a special tag attribute in the document itself.
Brief summary
Here's a brief summary of how to sign documents electronically. Of course, not all methods that allow such operations were given here, and not all programs for creating digital signatures were considered. However, even from such a brief description you can already understand why an electronic signature is needed, and how all the necessary algorithms basically work.
If you look at some types of software, in particular office programs or the most popular products from Adobe, you can use their own tools. However, in terms of simplifying the work, at least for a novice user, it is better to use third-party utilities as an example with “CryptoARM”. It goes without saying that we should not forget about the legal side of the issue. Some companies create electronic signatures and certificates on their own, but in the end they are not only invalid, but have no legal force.
