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All you want to know about Digital Signature

By Subodh Asthana - June 21, 2019  0

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This article has been written by Aparajita Balaji, a student of Vivekananda Institute Of
Professional Studies, affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, and
Hemal Shah, pursuing a Diploma in Advanced Contract Drafting, Negotiation and Dispute
Resolution from Lawsikho. In this article, she has discussed the entire concept related to
the digital signature in India. The difference between Digital Signature and Electronic
Signature as well as the Digital Signature Certificate.

Table of Contents 
Introduction
Electronic signature
 Concept of Digital Signature
Basic difference between digital signature and electronic signature- layman’s terms
UNCITRAL Model Law on electronic signatures 2001
Digital Signature and Electronic Signature as defined under the Law
Electronic Signature
Types of electronic signature
Unsecured Signature
Secured Signature
Digital Signature
Usage of Digital Signature
Difference between Electronic Signature and Digital Signature
Features of Digital Signature
Authentication using Digital Signature
Asymmetric Encryption
Symmetric Encryption
Benefits of Digital Signature
Process followed for the creation of digital signature
Verification of Digital Signature
Problems With Digital Signature
Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
Introduction
Who needs a DSC?
Elements of Digital Certificate
Types of Certificate
Validity
DSC under the Information Technology Act, 2000
Legal Approach and Digital Signature
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The introduction of signatures has provided a definite identity to the individuals and
allowed the corporate sector and other individuals to function in a manner faster, keeping
pace with the ongoing technology. The signatures have by far played a huge role in
individual’s decision making and enabling consent at a much larger value. In olden times,
every individual or the authorised signatory had to go through the document entirely and
then provide his assent. This created enough hurdles amongst the organisations to keep up
with the pace of the signatory and revolve around his/her timeline. Authorised Signatory
may not be at a particular place and still allow his assent. Technology has duly provided his
boon.

In advancement of the growing industrial era, the United Nations in 1998 made an
observation that increasing transactions in cyberspace over the recent years made it
very necessary to have a legal framework dealing with e-signatures. It was the stringent
laws for e-signature and the development of cyber laws were seen as the need of the
hour.

Electronic signature
Electronic Signature provides an electronic representation of the individual’s identity that
provides the proof of consent and assents to the facts of the given signature. In toto, it’s
an approval from the signatory that he assents to the written format of the same
electronically. It is important to ensure that it is coming from the authorised signatory and
has made no modifications to the document.

The European Union Regulation 910/214 defines and regulates electronic signature as “ in
electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic
form and used by the signatory to sign”.[1]

Concept of Digital Signature

A signature is a symbolic and essential representation of one’s identity. Signature of a
person holds a very significant place in the field of law as well as while carrying out
transactions. When a person signs a particular document, it means that such a person has
read the whole document carefully, has verified the facts and is aware of the contents of
the document and therefore is giving his assent to the best of his knowledge.

Under the contract law also, signature holds a vital position as it is considered as a sign of
acceptance of an offer. The Conventional form of signatures has evolved a lot due to
technological advancement. With the increased usage of online transactions and e-mails,
the risk of the data being hacked has also increased. Hence, the concept of online
signatures has become relatively important.

Basic difference between digital signature and

electronic signature- layman’s terms
Electronic Signature is more of an assent on the given document without asserting the
validity of the contents of the same. It could also refer to the image affixed in the
document as simple as an Image to asset the given content or to display that the given
party has given their consent to the same. It can be easily tampered or easily
misconfigured as compared to the digital signature. Electronic signatures cannot easily be
verified with regards to the time and place, there can be certain instances where someone
else may affix the signature on the given documents and still can’t be traced. In addition,

Audit Logs are not easily applied to electronic signatures. [2]

Digital signatures on the other end are more safeguarded and cannot be easily tampered
with. In case there are any changes made to the document and are sent back to the
original signee, the digital signature shows as invalid signature. As compared to the
electronic signature, the individual has a separate passkey that is passed only from the
signee to the original recipient. The signatures provide the time and stamp which is very
essential to prove in the court of law in case there is a dispute between the parties. It
discloses the identity of the individuals and provides a definite identity which is very vague
as compared to Electronic Signature.

UNCITRAL Model Law on electronic signatures 2001

The purpose of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures 2001 provides the following
statement which signifies the importance of electronic signature.

“The increased use of electronic authentication techniques as substitutes for handwritten

signatures and other traditional authentication procedures has suggested the need for a
specific legal framework to reduce uncertainty as to the legal effect that may result from
the use of such modern techniques (which may be referred to generally as “electronic
signatures”). The risk that diverging legislative approaches be taken in various countries
with respect to electronic signatures calls for uniform legislative provisions to establish the
basic rules of what is inherently an international phenomenon, where legal harmony as well

as technical interoperability is a desirable objective.” [3]

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Digital Signature and Electronic Signature as defined

under the Law
Electronic Signature
Sec 2 (ta) of Information Technology Act 2000 had defines electronic
signature a s:

“Authentication of any electronic record by a subscriber by means of the electronic

technique specified in the second schedule and includes digital signature.”

The definition of electronic signature includes digital signature and other electronic
techniques which may be specified in the second schedule of the Act, thus an electronic
signature means authentication of an electronic record by a subscriber by means of
electronic techniques. The adoption of ‘electronic signature’ has made the Act technological
neutral as it recognizes both the digital signature method based on cryptography technique

and electronic signature using other technologies. [4]

Types of electronic signature

Unsecured Signature
Since Electronic Signature is more of an unsecured type of signature, there are affixations
that are marked in the end for reference. However, as stated earlier, they can be easily
tampered and not provide much of the focus on the authenticity of the Identity. Following
are the types of Electronic Signature:

1) Email Signature– Just merely typing one’s name or symbol in the end of an email
or sending a message on letterhead, they can easily be forged by anyone else.

2) Web Based Signature– In many organizations, the Company dons many hats with
regards to activities conducted in the Organizations, this may make the organization fall for
Web-based clickwrap contracts in which the acceptance is made merely by clicking a single

button. Such signatures bind the party even if they were conned fraudulently. [5]

The advancement of growing online transactions has caused variety of cyber crime to take
place right from the deceptiveness to hidden identity. It is for this reason that Digital
Signature is taken as a more stringent form of signature and to protect the identity of the
sender. There are more advanced ways to curb the menace caused in Electronic Signatures
as well.

Secured Signature
This includes the signatures which are digitally secured and also which have more legal
weightage.

Digital Signature
According to section 2(1)(p) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 digital signature
means the authentication of any electronic record by a person who has subscribed for
 the digital signature in accordance to the procedure mentioned under section 3 of the
same act.
Section 5 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 gives legal recognition to digital
signatures.

Usage of Digital Signature

1) Personal Use- It is at the liberty of the individual to use the signature
personally without creating the hassle to personally be at the given place.

2) Business– Professions such as Architecture, Construction and Engineering

Companies require to sign the tenders, market procurements or even biddings, Digital
signature can prove to be a great way to provide the assent.

3) Return filing for GST– GST filing and E-filing causes the individuals to compulsory
opt for Digital Signatures.

4) Filing for Income Tax– Some corporations require the business to file the tax all
over India, thus saving the light of the day.

5) For ROC E-filing– Filing with registrar of Companies and filing for various
documents has caused enough leverage for individuals to opt for Digital Signature.

Difference between Electronic Signature and

Digital Signature
S.No Electronic Signature Digital Signature

It has been defined under Section

It has been defined under Section 2(1)(p) of
2(1)(ta) of the Information
the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Technology Act, 2000.

It is technologically neutral, ie. no

specific technological process is It follows a technology-specific approach
2.
to be followed to create an such as usage of hash functions etc.
electronic signature.

It uses public key cryptography system

It can be created by using various
to sign up for a particular message which
available technologies like
3. requires a pair of keys ie. a private key
attaching a picture of your
for encryption and a public key for
signature.
decryption, computed by using a hash
function.

4. It can be in the form of a name It involves the usage of Cryptographic

typed at the end of an email, a system of constructing the signature with a
 digital version of a handwritten two-way protection system.
signature in the form of an
attachment, a code or even a
fingerprint.

It is less authentic as compared to It has more authenticity as compared to the

5.
the digital signature. electronic signature.

It is verified through the signer’s It has a certificate-based digital 10

6.
identity. verification.

It is used as a means for securing a

7. It is used for verifying a document.
document.

It has no expiration or validity

8. It is valid up to a maximum of three years.
period.

It is easily vulnerable to
9. It is more secure and highly reliable.
tampering.

Features of Digital Signature

The authenticity of the sender

The person who receives the electronic message or document is able to realise who is the
sender of the message. The digital signature makes it possible to verify the name of the
person signing the message digitally.

The integrity of the message

The receiver of the electronic message is able to determine whether he/she has received
the original document or whether the document has been altered before the receipt or not.

Non- Repudiation

The sender of the message cannot refute the contents of the electronic message and
cannot deny that he/she had never sent the message.

Authentication using Digital Signature

The authentication of the electronic record is done by creating a digital signature which is
a mathematical function of the message content. Such signatures are created and verified
by Cryptography, which is a branch of applied mathematics. It is used to secure the
confidentiality and authentication of the data by replacing it with a transformed version
that can be reconverted to reveal the original data only to someone who has the proper
key.

A key is a sequence of symbols that controls the operation of a cryptographic

transformation.
It involves two processes which are as follows.

1. Encryption: The process of transforming the plain message into a cipher text.
2. Decryption: The reversal of Cipher text into the original message.

Asymmetric Encryption
Can only be decrypted using a publicly available key known as the ‘Public Key’ provided
by the sender. The procedure has been under Section 2(1)(f) of the Information
Technology Act, 2000. Under this system, there is a pair of keys, a private key known only
to the sender and a public key known only to the receivers.

The message is encrypted by the private key of the sender, on the contrary, decryption
can be done by anyone who is having the public key. It depicts the authenticity of the
sender. It is also known as the ‘principle of irreversibility’ ie. the public key of the
sender is known to many users, but they do not have access to the private key of the
sender which bars them from forging the digital signature.

Symmetric Encryption
There is only a single key known to both the sender and the receiver. Under this system,
the secret key or the private key is known to the sender and the legitimate user. This
secret key is used for both encryption and decryption of the message.

The only drawback of this symmetric encryption is that as the number of pairs of users
increases, it becomes difficult to keep track of the secret keys used.

Benefits of Digital Signature

Authenticity.
Non-deviability.
Message cannot be altered in between the transmission.

Process followed for the creation of digital signature

Digital signatures are becoming very popular in the whole world. Countries that
approve the use of digital signatures have a structure that governs the acquisition and
use of the digital signature. Even so, regardless of the country that you come from, the
way of
acquisition is standard. Digital signatures are created and issued by qualified individuals.
For anyone to get a valid digital certificate, they must get it from a certifying authority
(CA).
The Certifying Authority (CA) is a kind of Trust Service Provider, and it is a third-party
organization that is trusted and accepted in a country. It has the power of issuing the
citizens with digital signatures. These CAs have rules and regulations that they have to
keep and be governed by.

Firstly a person needs to get a Digital Signature Certificate from the Certifying Authorities.
After that, the following process is followed:

1. The original message of the sender is demarcated in order to get the message digest,
with the help of the hash function.
2. Then the private key is used to encrypt the message digest.
3. The encrypted message digest becomes the digital signature by using the signature
function.
4. The digital signature is then attached to the original data
5. Two things are transmitted to the recipient:

The Original message

The digital signature

Rule 4 of the Information Technology(Certifying Authorities) Rules, 2000, explains

the procedure of digital signature as:

To sign an electronic record or any other item of information, the signer first applies the
hash function in the signer’s software. A hash function is a function which is used to
map data of arbitrary size onto data of a fixed size. The values returned by a hash
function are called hash values, hash codes, digests, or simply hashes
The hash function computes a hash result of standard length, which is unique to the
electronic record.
The signer’s software transforms the hash result into a Digital Signature using the
signer’s private key.
The resulting Digital Signature is unique to both electronic record and private key which
is used to create it.
The Digital Signature is attached to its electronic record and stored or transmitted with
its electronic record.

Verification of Digital Signature

The recipient receives the original message and the digital signature. After this, there are
two steps which need to be followed:

A new message digest is recovered from the original message by applying the hash
result.
The signer’s public key is applied to the digital signature received by the recipient and
another message digest is recovered as the outcome of it.
If both the message digests are identical, it means that the message is not altered.

Rule 5 of the Information Technology (Certifying Authorities) Rules, 2000, explains

the method of verification of digital signature as:
The verification of a Digital Signature shall be accomplished by computing a new hash
result of the original electronic record by means of a hash function which is used to create
a Digital Signature and by using the public key and the new hash result.

Problems With Digital Signature

It functions online. Therefore, it has to be either purchased or downloaded
It lacks trust and authenticity

Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) Introduction

1. A method to prove the authenticity of an electronic document.
2. It can be presented electronically to prove the identity, to access information or sign
certain documents digitally.
3. The Central Government has appointed a Controller of Certifying Authorities who grants
a license to the Certifying Authorities to issue digital signature certificates to the
subscriber.

Who needs a DSC?

1. A vendor and a bidder
2. A Chartered Accountant
3. Banks
4. Director of a company
5. A Company Secretary
6. Other Authorized Signatories

Elements of Digital Certificate

1. Owner’s public key.
2. Owners name.
3. The expiration date of Public Key.
4. Name of the issuer.
5. Serial Number of the certificate.
6. A digital signature of the user.

Types of Certificate
1. Only Sign– It could only be used for signing a document. It is widely used in signing
PDF Files for the purpose of filing Tax Returns for usage as an attachment for Ministry
Of Corporate Affairs or other government websites
2. Encrypt– It is used to encrypt a particular document. It is popularly used in tender
portals to help a company encrypt a document before uploading it.
3. Sign along with Encryption– It is used for both signing and encrypting a
particular document.

Validity
The DSC is valid up to a maximum period of three years.

DSC under the Information Technology Act, 2000

Section 35: Any person who wishes to get a Digital Signature Certificate may file an
application to the certifying authority for issuance of the Electronic Certificate along with
the submission of the required amount of fees not exceeding Rs. 25,000, including a
statement of certification practice or stating such particulars as prescribed.
Section 36: Representations upon issuance of the DSC.
Section 37: Suspension in public interest, not more than 15 days, unless given the
opportunity to present the case.
Section 38: Revocation on death or request of a subscriber, dissolution of a company or
a firm.

Legal Approach and Digital Signature

The provisions of Information Technology Act, 2000 are based on the UNCITRAL’s
Model Law on E-Commerce.
The Model Law is based on the minimalist neutral approach ie. with the changes in
technology the law will remain neutral, as technology is dynamic in nature and comes in
the public domain with a lot of advancement with the passage of time, and it will not be
feasible for the legislators to keep on changing the laws dealing with the technology.
According to Article 7 of the UNCITRAL model, there ought to be a signature of a person
while contracting using the electronic means, for which any technology can be used. It
has to be ensured that the sender can be identified and he has given his consent to the
message.
The same ‘technology neutrality’ approach has also been ratified by the Amendment
Act, 2008 of the Information technology Act, 2000, with the insertion of Section 3A.

Conclusion
With the advancement in technology, the usage of the digital signature in place of the
conventional signature has widely increased. The Information Technology Act, 2000 talks
widely about the concept of Digital Signature, the authorities who have been given the
power of issuing the digital signature certificate and the circumstances which require
affixation of the digital signature.

References
 Law And Technology by Niharika Vij, Universal Law Publication House, Second Edition-
2017
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l212-Digital-Signatures.html
http://www.mca.gov.in/MinistryV2/digitalsignaturecertificate.html
http://corporatelawreporter.com/2014/05/02/digital-signature-work-
relevance- companies-act-2013/

[1]
https://blog.signaturit.com/en/what-is-an-electronic-signature- (2019)

[2]
https://www.approveme.com/e-signature/difference-between-digital-signature-
and- electronic-signature/

[3]
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1827/Electronic-Signature:-Legal-and-
Technical-aspect.html

[4]
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1827/Electronic-Signature:-Legal-and-
Technical-aspect.html

[5]
https://blog.ipleaders.in/digital-electronic-signature/

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