The Advantages

• Media transfer, i.e. printing documents on paper to sign is no longer necessary.
• The signature cannot be copied, stolen or forgotten.
• The signature is an unequivocal and conscious declaration of will.
• The signature is an acceptable way of declaring intent for the young and the old.
• The signer does not need to be a member of a trust centre.
• Signatures recorded with a StepOver Signature Pad can be verified by a handwriting expert (also against signatures on paper).

What do you need for a handwritten electronic signature?

• A signature device to acquire the handwritten signature (time, pressure and high resolution signature image).
• Encrypted transmission of the recorded signature and its biometric data to the signature software (without this the data could be intercepted, e.g. by trojans - in court, a computer is considered an unsafe medium!).
• A software system that integrates this signature in a secure way with asymmetric encryption into a tamper-proof electronic document (bear in mind the recommendations for secure key lengths by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI): at present at least RSA 2048 bit).
• The general system should be able to record the signature in such a way that it can be used as evidence by a handwriting expert in court.
• Verification software to compare signatures with other internal signatures is optional.

Bear in mind the following considerations concerning electronic signatures:

• Signature comparison achieved using verification software should not be considered legally binding.
• StepOver GmbH electronic signature products have been validated by independent handwriting experts authorised by court.

Legal Background

The electronic signature bill, passed in 2001, lays down a framework for all paperless signature processes, e.g. digital signatures (smart card) and handwritten electronic signatures.

The legislation is based on the EC directive on electronic signatures and supersedes the previous electronic signature bill from 1997, which was restricted to Germany. The pan-European foundation was created for the cross-border use of electronic signature products. It is expected that due to these initiatives, electronic signature will continue to gain ground in Europe. You will find more information on the legal framework in the StepOver guidelines to e-signatures.

Specialised in electronic signature

With its products for electronic signature, StepOver GmbH has become the specialist in the area of electronic recording of handwritten signatures. While large companies almost exclusively use electronic means in their internal workflow, the interface to the “outside world” remained paper-based almost everywhere. Studies have shown that for every dollar spent on the manufacture of paper an additional 30 to 60 dollars are required for its further processing (source: Gartner Group). The electronic signature offered by StepOver now gives companies the chance to digitally sign electronic documents.

Until now, a person’s signature could still not be integrated into an electronic workflow through an electronic process without a format mismatch. This was due to the legal situation that existed until recently, as well as to the resolution methods available at the time. One can neither assume that a customer owns an electronic signature device (only 0.03% of citizens in Germany own smart cards for electronic signature) nor can one expect that everyone will accept such technology.

An unmistakable declaration of intent through an electronic signature

The electronic signature process allows every end user, without a special device or certificate being required, to make an unmistakable declaration of intent, which can be taken over into an electronic document as an electronic signature. This electronic signature procedure already receives a very high acceptance in society today, not least because of the well-known package delivery services. However, at best this signature solution merely corresponds to a simple electronic signature. The electronic signature can only be used as a basis for identification under specific technical conditions. For more information on this matter, consult the section "Biometrics" below.

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