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Electronic signature An electronic signature, or e-signature, is data that is logically associated with other data and which is used by the signatory to sign the associated data. This type of signature has the same legal standing as a handwritten signature as long as ...
allows users to electronically perform the actions for which they previously had to give a signature on paper.
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
's digital signature system is the foundation for some of its most popular
e-services Electronic services or e-services are services that make use of Information and communication technology, information and communication technologies (ICTs). The three main components of e-services are: # service provider; # service receiver; and ...
including registering a company online, e-banks, the
e-voting Electronic voting is voting that uses electronic means to either aid or handle casting and counting ballots including voting time. Depending on the particular implementation, e-voting may use standalone '' electronic voting machines'' (also ...
system and electronic tax filing – essentially any services that require signatures to prove their validity.


History and usage

The first digital signature was given in 2002. A number of
freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...
programs were released to end users and system integrators. All of the components of the software processed the same document format – the DigiDoc format. As of October 2013, over 130 million digital signatures have been given in Estonia. In September 2013 the European Commissioner for Digital Agenda
Neelie Kroes Neelie Kroes (; born 19 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson who served as European Commissioner from 22 November 2004 to 1 November 2014. Kroes studied Economics at ...
gave her first digital signature with an Estonian test ID-card issued to her as a present. In October 2014 Estonian parliament passed a bill which gives any person, regardless of their citizenship or residency, possibility to apply for Estonian
digital identity A digital identity is data stored on Computer, computer systems relating to an individual, organization, application, or device. For individuals, it involves the collection of personal data that is essential for facilitating automated access to ...
( e-Residency of Estonia) to give digital signatures and use Estonian government online services. The law came into force on December 1, 2014.


Legislation

The nature and use of digital signature in Estonia is regulated by the Digital Signature Act. The Estonian parliament
Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...
passed the Digital Signature Act on March 8, 2000, and it entered into force on December 15, 2000. According to this legislation, a digital signature is equal to a hand-written signature. Pursuant to the Act it is also necessary to distinguish between valid and void digital signatures, any signatures given with a void or suspended
certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial p ...
are null and void. The Digital Signature Act has been superseded by the EU-wide eSignature Directive (
eIDAS The eIDAS Regulation (for "electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services") is an regulation (European Union), EU regulation with the stated purpose of governing "electronic identification and trust service provider, trust service ...
) since 2016. It should also mandate that rest of the EU member nations accept Estonian e-signatures amongst other countries e-signatures. The eSignature Directive also specifies that member nations should use and accept signatures in the Associated Signature Containers (ASiC) format. All Estonian authorities are obliged to accept digitally signed documents.


Prerequisites

Users can create digitally signed documents with their ID-card
digital identity card
or Mobile-ID using either the DigiDoc3 program that is installed into the computer along with the ID-card software, in the signing section of the State Portal www.eesti.ee or in the DigiDoc Portal. Digital signature support can be added to all the applications and programs where it is required.


International context

The Estonian digital signatures corresponds to the EU
eIDAS The eIDAS Regulation (for "electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services") is an regulation (European Union), EU regulation with the stated purpose of governing "electronic identification and trust service provider, trust service ...
(910/2014) with the strictest requirements (advanced electronic signature, secure-signature-creation device, qualified certificate, certification service provider (CSP) issuing qualified certificates).


Certificates

Upon the issuance of ID-cards or mobile ID-s, every user receives two certificates: one for authentication, the other for digital signing. The certificate may be compared to the specimen signature of a person – it is public and it can be used by anyone to examine whether the signature given by the person is authentic. The certificate also holds the personal data, name and personal identification code. All certificates are different and correspond to the private keys of specific persons. The certificate can be used to examine digital signatures – if the certificate and the signature match mathematically (all the necessary calculations are performed by the computer on behalf of the user), it can be claimed that the signature has been given by the person named in the certificate.


See also

* DigiDoc (Digital Document) format family * Electronic signatures and law


References

{{Reflist


External links


Digital Signature Act

Signature électronique - reality in Estonia, future in Europe?
Internet in Estonia
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...