SideDrawer's digital signature includes a seal that provides a certificate of authority to the signed document.
SideDrawer has selected GlobalSign to be the Certificate Authority solution provider for our digital signature functionality. GlobalSign is the leading CA provider, and is the technology partner for the popular DocuSign digital signature solution. Click here to learn more about their digital signature solution.
Why SideDrawer's signature process is more secure
Most traditional signature solutions allow any user with access to the signature link to complete the signature, and legally bind the contract, which creates an opportunity for fraud if the recipient's email was compromised. Typically there is no further authentication required other than accessing the link. Considering that 85% of law firms have had an email data breach in the last 12 months (per Egress) we believe limiting access to the document is important.
Through SideDrawer's platform, only authenticated users who have entered the platform, and have been granted permission to the Record containing the document, can access the document for signature. Our system automatically recognizes the user and links the user's identity to the log-in session, which is then used to seal the document upon signature.
How does the audit rail and signature seal look?
The SideDrawer eSignature process adds 2 pages to the end of each document, which ensures that compliance or regulatory authorities can independently verify the signature and ensure the long-term reliability of the document, independent of SideDrawer, along with the signature validity evidenced in the signature panel of Adobe.
By incorporating the audit trail and the seal within the document, this eliminates the need to source the audit trail separately to include as a separate attachment, which offers a greater level of efficiency for your workflows and reviews.
Audit Trail or Transaction Summary
The first page has details of the audit trail or transaction summary. This includes the logo of the firm (Tenant or Affiliate) and the detailed audit trail.
The detailed audit trail contains the chronological timeline of events that took place during the signature process. SideDrawer captures the following information of the user that requested the signature (requestor) and the user that signed the document (signatory).
First and Last Name (if available in the system)
Email address (mandatory in the system)
IP address (recorded by the system)
Time and Date (recorded by the system)
A sample is shown below (the IP addresses have been greyed out for privacy reasons):
Signature seal
The second additional page is the seal from SideDrawer as the platform that validated the user, the seal date and time.
A sample is shown below:
How does the Signature Panel look?
The Signature Panel is the functionality within Adobe that verifies the seal of the document. Upon opening the document in Adobe on your desktop, you will see the following banner appear for any digitally sealed document.
Upon clicking on Signature Panel, you will see a further side-menu which provides details of the signatory and other relevant information.
or access the certificate viewer:
Helpful links:
Electronic signatures vs Digital signatures: https://www.globalsign.com/en/blog/electronic-signatures-vs-digital-signatures
How do digital signatures work? https://www.globalsign.com/en/blog/how-do-digital-signatures-work
About GlobalSign:
GlobalSign is a publicly trusted Certificate Authority (CA) that supports regions and languages on nearly every continent. The cloud service from GlobalSign takes care of all the cryptographic components securing your signature behind the scenes – so although there’s no change to your signing workflow, the end result is a super identity powered signature and all the benefits that come with it. To learn more about GlobalSign, please visit their website.