In an increasingly digital business environment, companies seek efficient ways to guarantee digital documents' authenticity, proven origin, and integrity. Especially in highly regulated industries, digitizing established, paper-based, and complex processes is necessary without sacrificing trust. Electronic seals (eSeals) offer an exciting opportunity to harden documents and contracts against cyber fraud and increase consumer trust.
In the digital world, the eSeal represents the equivalent of an official stamp on paper, which, like a stamp, is assigned to a legal entity. Therefore, any authorized subject of this entity may use it and allow badge processing. With this characteristic, the eSeal complements the electronic signature uniquely connected to individual natural persons.
We have collected five real-world applications for the use of eSeals in business processes:
Electronic seals can significantly boost efficiency, especially in the finance, insurance, and telecommunications sectors, where many standardized contracts and invoices are processed. Organizations can process digital contracts (e.g., basic insurance policies) in bulk and still guarantee the authenticity and inalterability of digital documents. This saves time and minimizes human error.
Electronic seals protect companies and customers against the forgery of online documents. Documents such as invoices, policies, or diplomas that bear a qualified electronic seal ensure they have not been forged and are authentic to the company. Based on asymmetric cryptography, an authentic seal cannot be created without the associated private key but can be verified by anyone with the connected public key. This builds trust and security in business communications and customer relations.
Electronic seals significantly simplify the correct archiving of digital business documents. Scanned paper documents can be archived in an audit-proof manner once a qualified electronic seal has been applied. This not only saves space but also significantly reduces administrative overhead.
Electronic seals are also used to digitize incoming and outgoing correspondence. Emails can be automatically sealed and time-stamped, making them legally binding and proving their authenticity. This necessity is emphasized by institutions such as the German BSI in the "BSI Technical Guideline 03138 – Replacement Scanning" guideline.
Documents with an electronic seal enjoy evidential value in court. Organizations can submit requests and expressions of interest to authorities with a legally valid electronic seal. Qualified electronic seals also provide the advantage of being evidence-reversible (anyone who doubts the authenticity of a qualified eSeal must provide proof of this), which can be crucial in legal disputes.
Implementing electronic seals in the business world is a step towards digitization and a significant advancement in efficiency, security, and trust. With diverse applications across multiple sectors and the potential to optimize processes while minimizing risks, electronic seals can be a real game changer for digital businesses.
If your use case is not included in this list, or if you are looking for a tailored solution to your challenge, please do not hesitate to contact us. Swisscom Trust Services has a vast network of partners, and together, we are always eager to develop and integrate ideally suited solutions for our customers.