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Digital Signature Service from Ascertia Docs 

Architecture

  • Zero Footprint Solution

    Ascertia Docs digital signature service does not require end-users to buy, install or manage any software whatsoever. They just need a standard web browser and an Internet connection, and they can view, sign and verify any document, from anywhere, at anytime. As an organisation you don’t need to worry about the hassles of deploying, managing and supporting desktop applications.

  • Software as a Service (SaaS) Vs Software Purchase

    Ascertia Docs digital signature service can be used immediately by organisations and individuals on a SaaS model. Managed Service Providers can also offer Ascertia Docs to multiple end-user and enterprise customers as part of their service offering. Ascertia Docs comes with a built-in ecommerce billing module which can charge customers on monthly, quarterly or annual basis. Alternatively organisation can purchase the Ascertia Docs digital signature service and operate the service as part of an internal cloud to ensure no external dependencies.

Ease of Use

  • Upload Multiple Document Formats

    Using Ascertia Docs digital signature service, you can upload a wide variety of documents including PDF, DOC, XLS, PPT, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, RTF, ODT, ODS, ODP, ODG etc. Non-PDF documents will be converted to PDF on the Ascertia Docs server. PDF format is used for presenting the document and also for digital signature purposes since this is an ISO standard format which supports embedded digital signatures in a very rich way.

  • Interoperable Digital Signatures

    Ascertia Docs users sign documents using standard PKI techniques and according to the PDF specifications. Hence documents signed by Ascertia Docs users can easily be verified by anyone within PDF Reader software (e.g. Adobe® Reader).

  • Saved Share Profiles

    You may often share your documents with the same set of collaborators who need to approve the document as part of a fixed approval process. Instead of defining the document sharing process each time, e.g. the order in which your collaborators must view and sign the document and their access rights etc., you can save these configurations as share profiles and automatically apply them to future documents that need to be processed under the same approval process. screenshot

  • Individual Digital Signature Appearances

    Each user can configure their own PDF digital signature appearance which is stamped on the document at the time of digital signature creation. Alternatively the administrator can pre-set these to match corporate preferences. screenshot

  • Controls Digital Signature Location

    Often users do not know where to sign the document and end up signing in the wrong page or wrong place. The use of digital signature fields helps but even so sometimes users will sign in a field assigned for another party. Ascertia Docs Go>Sign Applet caters for these by guiding users on which fields they must sign and also prevent them from signing in the wrong place. Where flexibility is needed Go>Sign Applet allows user to create the digital signature location field anywhere they desire. screenshot


Strong Security

  • Strong PKI-based Digital Signature Service

    Each user signs with a unique PKI signing key that only they have access to. These are no weak digital signatures using a single server-held key or a squiggle created by the signer moving their mouse! Instead strong personal digital signatures are created by users using keys under their control.

  • Long-Term PDF Digital Signatures Service

    Ascertia Docs can also create long-term digital signatures with embedded cryptographic timestamp and revocation information so that the documents can be verified in the future even after signer’s certificate expiry. Visible, invisible, PDF/A digital signatures, PAdES and Adobe® CDS digital signatures are all supported. screenshot

  • What You See is What You Sign (WYSIWYS)

    Ascertia Docs digital signature service using our Go>Sign Professional Applet provides the ability to show documents as flattened PDF images before being asked users to sign. This helps to ensure the user is actually signing the version of the document they are currently viewing. screenshot

  • Data Leakage Prevention

    Maintain control over documents and intellectual property by keeping them secure using the built-in security of Ascertia Docs Go>Sign Applet. The document owner can set access rights on a per collaborator basis. Access rights include when the document can be viewed (e.g. not before or not after dates), whether document can be stored locally, whether it can be printed, any document open passwords that are required etc.

  • Server Security

    The back-end ADSS Server provides a very secure environment where all activity is logged in secure tamper-resistant logs. All operator and client access goes through rigours access control checks. All documents held within the Ascertia Docs database are encrypted using strong cryptography (i.e. AES256 algorithm). For further details of the ADSS Server security features click here.

  • Document History

    All actions on a document are recorded (e.g. its upload time, the time it was shared, when it was viewed and by whom, when it was signed and by whom etc.). Each revision of the document can be individually viewed by the document owner. screenshot

Multiple Keystore Options

  • Local digital signatures using smartcard / USB tokens

    End-users can apply personal digital signature using locally held smartcards, USB tokens or software keys. This is an ideal solution where users already hold smartcards/tokens e.g. as part of a national citizen eID infrastructure. Ascertia Docs Go>Sign Applet supports both Windows® CAPI and PKCS#11 specifications for accessing keystores on Windows and UNIX systems.

  • Unique user digital signatures on server

    Yet another Go>Sign Applet signing option is for the document to be hashed locally and then sent to the ADSS Server for digital signature creation. In this case the user’s keys are held securely on the ADSS Server within a secure HSM or encrypted database. This is very much like corporate digital signatures, but this time ADSS Server holds unique signing keys for ever user! The HSM (or the ADSS Server's encrypted database) acts as a global smartcard for everyone. This approach has major cost and ease of use benefits than deploying smartcards/tokens to every user.

  • Local digital signatures using roaming credentials

    Ascertia Docs Go>Sign Applet also provides an option to sign using roaming credentials. These are signing keys held within a secure container stored centrally by ADSS Server and delivered to user whenever required. User authentication is performed locally by Go>Sign Applet. A very flexible, low-cost and secure solution which provides ability to sign from any machine anywhere!

Legal Compliance

  • Legal Compliance

    Ascertia Docs Go>Sign Applet and ADSS Server has been designed to be compliant with a range of digital signature legislation and regulatory frameworks, including EU law (EU Directive for Electronic Signatures), EU Directive for E-Invoicing, IdenTrust, US Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign), The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 21 CFR Part 11(a regulation governing the use of digital signatures within the pharmaceutical industry), Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and others. A configurable legal statement can be shown to the user before signing using Go>Sign Applet to ensure the user understands the implications of their digital signature.

    Platform Independence

    • Operating System independence

      Ascertia Docs Go>Sign Applet is 100% JAVA applet and supported on Windows, Linux (Centos, Suse) and Solaris (X86 and Sparc). Other UNIX flavours and MAC can also be supported upon request.

    • Browser independence

      Ascertia Docs Go>Sign has been successfully test on various browsers including Internet Explorer® and FireFox.  Other browsers should also work.

    • Smartcard / Secure USB token Independence

      Any CAPI or PKCS#11 crypto device (i.e. smartcard or USB token) can work with Ascertia Docs Go>Sign Applet to sign documents.

    Speaks Your Language

    • Multi-lingual interface

      Localize Ascertia Docs digital signature service main application and the Go>Sign Applet document viewer to any language and cater to your local audience. Change the full viewer look & feel or change the tooltips and text to any language.

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      Ascertia is a global provider of Digital Signature products and solutions that enable trust within electronic workflows. Organisations can now safely cross the final hurdle in migrating old paper-intensive approval processes to the new secure digital world. Ascertia’s Digital Signing products are designed to be easy to integrate and use in a range of business scenarios.