Electronic seals are technically comparable to electronic signatures. The main difference is that they are assigned to legal persons, while digital signatures belong to natural persons. While natural persons can declare intent, electronic seals of an institution serve as proof of origin - wherever a personal signature is not necessary, proof of authenticity is desired.
Thus, electronic seals enable efficient and intelligent electronic workflows. When legal or other authorities or companies electronically seal documents, they are permanently recognizable as the sender and protect the integrity of the data in a trustworthy manner.
The digital seal has a high evidential value in Europe through the eIDAS Ordinance and Switzerland through the Federal Act on the Electronic Signature (ZertES).
The data center and operation of CloudHSM are ISO 27001 certified. In addition, CloudHSM can be used to perform electronic signatures based on FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified Primus HSM. A dedicated service - certified to Common Criteria EAL4+ EN 419 221-5 - supports eIDAS or ZertES compliant signing services with qualified certificates.
In addition, PrimusHSM is listed as QSCD and it is, therefore, possible to integrate qualified electronic signatures/seals with the help of a specific cluster compliant to CC EN 419 221-5. The patented SKA function provides additional security and ensures sole control of the digital signatures. Finally, the attestation function of the HSM simplifies the process of qualified seals by automating audit requirements by Trust Service Providers (TSP, certificate issuers).
Secure storage of keys for document signing for legally effective verification is a must. The memory must be FIPS 140-2 certified. CloudHSM meets this condition.
