Digital signatures in daily life

Life is getting more digitalised by the day. Sometimes technology can complicate matters; at other times it can relieve you of many avoidable tasks. Digital signature is one such technological application that simplifies life greatly. Yet many of us aren't aware as to how useful it can get. So let us look at some day-to-day uses of digital signatures.

For Individuals:

Bill payment: Your private key will confirm that the payment has indeed come from you and that the details like card number, expiry date etc. are true. In a physical transaction, you need to sign on the transaction slip, but how do you sign online? Going forward, you will be able to identify yourself digitally while paying your bills.

eCommerce: This includes online shopping for tangible products as well as services like travel packages, online courses, consultancy services, podcasts etc.

Insurance: You can apply for an insurance policy and give details online as well as correspond online for policy servicing. Not only this, you can also put in a claim online. Say you are recovering from an ailment and cannot visit the insurance company's branch or courier relevant documents. But if you have a computer with an internet connection and a scanner, you can speed up your case by submitting a claim online or email a scanned copy of the claim form and other documents.

ECS mandates: Utility payments are often made by giving your bank and service providers standing instructions on debiting your account every time a payment is due. Now if these transactions are going to happen electronically, you can issue instructions online too. And you can sign your mandate digitally, to reassure your bank and service providers that it is indeed you who has issued the instructions.

E-file your return: You can file your income tax return online in 2 ways. Either you can file a soft copy and follow it up with a personal visit to the tax office to submit a copy of the ITR-V and get the acknowledged copy back. Or you can simply attach your digital signature to your electronic return form and get an acknowledgement via email, without getting up from your seat! Who wouldn't choose the latter?

Using digital signatures will place the common man in a powerful position. As you play your part in ensuring safety, confidentiality and speed by using digital signatures, you can expect your service providers and product sellers to guarantee at least the same level of efficiency, if not higher.

Who regulates digital signature use in India?

The Information Technology Act, 2000 was enacted to give a legal backing and a regulatory framework for the promotion of e-Governance and e-Commerce in India.

 Digital Signatures and Certificates are central to ensuring security and confidentiality of e-Governance and e-Commerce transactions. They cannot be sold in the way that you sell goods on online stores. You need a proper organizational setup to issue the certificates. The IT Act provides for the setting up of Certifying Authorities (CAs) who issue digital signatures in India. And to ensure that these CAs function smoothly and in tandem, the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) was set up. In fact, it is the CCA that issues the CA a licence to in turn issue digital certificates.

 The CCA maintains the National Repository of Digital Certificates (NRDC) ^$ that contains all digital certificates issued by all certifying authorities in India to date. This is a mandatory requirement under the IT Act, 2000. In fact, even the licences issued to the CAs are digitally signed by the CCA. This is done in an environment that conforms to the same strict guidelines that are applicable to CAs. The certifying authorities in India can cross-certify each other as well as other CAs across the globe. This helps them recognise each other’s certificates and enables governments; businesses as well as individuals operate in the global internet space in a seamless way.

 ^$ Source: CCA brochure

Why should I sign my electronic documents?

Let us say you are an independent researcher who has developed a scientific formula and prepared a paper on the subject. You need to get the formula patented with the Indian Patents Office. You will need to sign the document for it to be considered an authentic work and also to prove that it was indeed created by you.

What if you don’t take it seriously and simply mail your paper to the Patents Office without signing it? Of course, the Patents Office will simply dismiss your work and get on with other applications. Worse, if the research paper accidentally lands into wrong hands before it reaches the intended recipient and there is no signature, this person might sign it and claim credit, putting to naught all your hard work and creativity. 

Now if you had to send the same piece of work electronically, but you didn’t have access to email, how would you send it? May be you would save it to a pen drive and courier the pen drive through a recognised courier company, wouldn’t you? Does that still prove that you had developed the formula or prepared the research paper? To conclusively establish that you are the one you claim to be, you must sign the electronic document digitally. And that does not mean scanning the physically signed research paper. You actually need to procure a digital signature from a Certifying Authority and apply it to the relevant document within the validity period. How you mail the document to the recipient is secondary.

Digital Signatures and Indian Law

The biggest hurdle in implementing any technological breakthrough on a mass scale is getting its use legalized. The Indian government has shown a progressive attitude in this regard by bringing into effect The Indian Information Technology Act, 2000, to facilitate and popularize the use of digital signatures in the country.

Important provisions explained^$ 

• Electronic records in business and other fields have been given a legal standing now.
• Digital Signatures have been given legal recognition, so that these records can be attributed to a specific person while, at the same time, ensuring security of the records.
• Certifying Authorities have been licensed to issue digital signatures.
•  The activities of Certifying Authorities are monitored by a Controller of Certifying Authorities appointed by the Central Government.

 ^$Source: Network Magazine India website