In a recent blog, we discussed the impending arrival of digital identity wallets and speculated that this innovation could drive a significant increase in the adoption of high-trust digital signatures by enhancing their usability and their usefulness simultaneously.
This insight led us to consider other emerging trends and open questions in the realm of electronic and digital signatures that are poised to influence the adoption of, or be transformed by the advent of, digital identity wallets.
A unified approach to signature validation
As wallets lead more users to generate digital signatures across various jurisdictions, the need for robust signature validation becomes increasingly compelling. Ensuring the reliability of signatures, regardless of where or when they were signed, becomes more challenging in cross-border contexts.
Currently, multiple validator tools are emerging, leading to discrepancies in how digital certificates in signed documents are parsed. For instance, online digital signature validators from Switzerland and the European Commission (EC) and Adobe Reader may interpret certificates differently.
Moreover, the European Commission has launched the List of Trusted Lists (LOTL), aiming to harmonise validation approaches with non-EU countries. The proliferation of trust lists and validator tools, both online and offline, presents a potential fragmentation of the validation space. This fragmentation could hinder the adoption of digital signatures, especially for organisations operating across borders that seek to trust be trusted by international counterparts.
The current landscape suggests ripe conditions for the emergence of a unified digital signature validation service, where users pay not to create but to validate signatures.
Preparing for post-quantum computing
The advent of quantum computers poses a significant threat to current encryption algorithms, potentially rendering them obsolete. This development could undermine the security of digital signatures on previously secure documents and impede the creation of new trusted documents.
With Post-Quantum Computing (PQC) standards now finalised, and the remaining standardisation work underway with organisations like the IETF, the entire tech industry is poised to PQC enable products globally.
While this issue may not capture public attention as the Y2K bug did, PQC is vastly more consequential for organisations and their stakeholders. The cyber arms race is entering a critical phase.
At Ascertia, we are closely monitoring the relevant standards bodies and are actively working on integrating updated standards across our product line. Ascertia products will provide support for PQC algorithms in 2025 to enable new signatures to be created based on PQC keys and certificates, and will enable organisations to apply PQC ready timestamps to existing documents to protect them into the future.
Signature interoperability: Has the time come?
Currently, the e-signature market lacks “mixed signing” capabilities. If you send a document for signature in one application, your counterparty—who may be a user of a different application—cannot countersign in their preferred platform without impacting the integrity of the Workflow Evidence Report that might be needed in court.
However, this creates interesting market dynamics: the relative economic power of the parties might determine where documents get signed and who incurs the cost of provisioning any digital signatures needed.
This can also create network effects when organisations adopt a single platform to ensure seamless signing and countersigning among themselves. Alternatively, it can oblige organisations to maintain multiple signature applications to keep business flowing regardless of the signature platform.
As digital identity wallets gain popularity and more individuals have easy access to digital signing, conditions are favourable for the emergence of a disruptive “interoperability” layer that allows documents to transit freely and securely between signature applications.
Such a development would be particularly beneficial to public sector bodies that need to ensure a competitive, open marketplace for digital signatures, allowing them to reach all their constituents. For platforms like SigningHub, it promises a meritocratic market based on features, value, and customer satisfaction.
The next 25 years
Not all the issues discussed here will play out over the same timeline. However, as we anticipate a world where digital signature adoption increases, it’s essential to reflect on the bigger picture. The last 25 years of digital signatures have been a slow evolution. Who would bet against the next 25 years being much more dynamic?
Ascertia’s SigningHub is committed to staying at the forefront of these developments, ensuring that our solutions remain secure, interoperable, and aligned with a rapidly changing digital ecosystem.
For more insights into digital signatures and their future, explore our resources on Advanced Electronic Signatures and Long-Term Validation.
