What the electronic seal is and what it is for
What the electronic seal is and how it works
The electronic seal is a digital technology that guarantees the authenticity, integrity and origin of the digital documents to which it is applied. It was introduced by EU Regulation 910/2014 (eIDAS), which defines it as a set of data in electronic form “which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form” with the aim of guaranteeing the origin and integrity of the document.
This tool can be considered as a kind of digital stamp, used predominantly by legal entities (companies, organisations) to certify the origin and integrity of digital documents. Unlike an electronic signature, which identifies a natural person, an electronic seal associates the document with an organisational entity, protecting it from unauthorised modification and guaranteeing its authenticity.
The qualified electronic seal is created using a device that contains a qualified certificate, which guarantees the highest level of security and reliability for the authentication of digital documents. This is an advanced version of the electronic seal, which offers additional legal guarantees thanks to its compliance with strict European standards.
Unlike the advanced electronic seal (AdESeal), a qualified electronic seal is created by means of a device containing a certificate issued in compliance with the requirements laid down by EU legislation. It can, therefore, be defined as the equivalent of a qualified electronic signature, the only difference being that it does not refer to a natural person, but to a legal entity.
So while, through a digital signature, the data of the natural person who applied it can be traced, a qualified electronic seal makes it possible to trace the name of the legal entity. For this reason, it can be used for myriad activities, even by numerous parties belonging to the same company or organisation. It can, for example, be used to prove ownership of business documents, to protect intellectual works, for certificates of incorporation, for the management of medical records and medical reports as well as for many other purposes.