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ELECTRONICSIGNATURES

ENABLINGTRUSTED

DIGITALTRANSFORMATION

DIGITALTRANSFORMATIONPOLICYNOTESERIES

SEPTEMBER2024

2

?2024TheWorldBank

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

Disclaimer6

AboutID4D7

AboutKWPF7

Acknowledgements7

Executivesummary8

1.Introduction10

2.Electronicsignaturebasics13

2.1Enablingtrustinthedigitaleconomy13

2.2Digitalversuselectronicsignatures13

2.3Authenticatingelectronictransactions15

2.4Electronicsignatureusecases16

2.5Commonmyths18

3.Trusted(electronic)transactions21

3.1Whatisasignatureanyway?21

3.2Sourcesoftrust23

4.Trustframework24

4.1Theroleofatrustframework24

4.2Tieredtrust:Levelsofassurance25

5.Legalframework27

5.1Theroleofthelegalframework27

5.2Mutualrecognition30

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6.Technicalimplementation32

6.1Avarietyofpossibletechnologies32

6.2Theroleofpublickeycryptography33

6.3Theroleofdigitalidentity35

7.Conclusions37

7.1Strategic37

7.2Legalandregulatory37

7.3Technical38

8.Appendices39

Appendix1:Glossaryofkeyterms39

Appendix2:Electronicsignatureusecases41

Appendix3:Goodpracticelegalframeworks43

Appendix4:Fromanalogtodigitaltrust46

Figures

Figure1:Layeredmodelofdigitaltrust12

Figure2:Howelectronicanddigitalsignaturessupportauthentication

ofelectronictransactions15

Figure3:Usecasesofelectronicsignatures18

Figure4:Howsignaturesincreasetrustintransactions22

Figure5:Functionalequivalenceofelectronicsignatures29

Figure6:Digitalandelectronicsignatures35

Tables

Table1.Electronicsignatureversusdigitalsignature14

Table2:Risk-basedapproachtoanalyzingelectronicsignatureusecases17

Table3:eIDASlevelsofassurance:Summaryofkeyfeatures26

Table4:Examplesofadvancedelectronicsignatureimplementation33

Table5:Examplesofqualifiedelectronicsignatureimplementation33

Table6:Relevanceofcryptographytoelectronicsignaturefunctionalities34

Table7:Illustrativeexampleoftherolesofprovidersofdigitalidentity

andtrustservices36

Table8.Commonelectronictransactionsacrosssectorsgroupedbyrisklevel41

Table9.UNCITRALtextsandkeymilestones44

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DISCLAIMER

ThisPolicyNoteisareferencedocumenttobeconsultedbygovernments,developmentpartners,academicsandotherswhenconsidering,designing,implementing,ormanagingnationalelectronicsignatureecosystems.ItisnotintendedtobeacomprehensiveguideforplanningWorldBankoperations.ThisNoteisbasedonevolvinginternationalgoodpractice,asunderstoodbytheWorldBank’sDigitalDevelopmentpractice.Itreflectsexperiencesinarangeofcountriesfromdifferentregions,withdifferentlegalsystems,andatdifferentstagesofeconomicdevelopment.Italsotakesintoaccountexistingliterature,laws,modellaws,andnormsandprinciples.ThereisnoguaranteethataddressingalltheissuesraisedinthisNotewillresultinsuccessfuldesign,installation,ormanagementofanationalelectronicsignatureecosystem—asdoingsowilldependontheconsiderationofmanyfactors,whichmaybedifferentfromcountrytocountry.Whileeveryattempthasbeenmadetobecomplete,theremaybeissuesaffectingthedesign,establishment,andoperationofanationalelectronicsignatureecosystemsthatarenotaddressedinthisNote,orthatareaddressedinthecontextofcertainassumptions,facts,andcircumstancesthatdonotapplyequallytoeverysituation.ThisNoteisareferencetoolonly.

ABOUTID4D

TheWorldBankGroup’sIdentificationforDevelopment(ID4D)initiativeusesglobalknowledgeandexpertiseacrosssectorstohelpcountriesrealizethetransformationalpotentialofdigitalidentificationsystemstoachievetheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.ItoperatesacrosstheWorldBankGroupwithglobalpracticesandunitsworkingondigitaldevelopment,socialprotection,health,financialinclusion,governance,gender,andlegal,amongothers.

ThemissionofID4Distoenableallpeopletoaccessservicesandexercisetheirrights,byincreasingthenumberofpeoplewhohaveanofficialformofidentification.ID4Dmakesthishappenthroughitsthreepillarsofwork:thoughtleadershipandanalyticstogenerateevidenceandfillknowledgegaps;globalplatformsandconveningtoamplifygoodpractices,collaborate,andraiseawareness;andcountryandregionalengagementtoprovidefinancialandtechnicalassistancefortheimplementationofrobust,inclusive,andresponsibledigitalidentificationsystemsthatareintegratedwithcivilregistration.

TheworkofID4DismadepossiblewithsupportfromtheWorldBankGroup,Bill&MelindaGatesFoundation,theUKGovernment,theFrenchGovernment,theAustralianGovernment,theNorwegianAgencyforDevelopmentCooperation,andtheOmidyarNetwork.

TofindoutmoreaboutID4D,visit.

ABOUTKWPF

ThisworkissupportedthroughtheKorea-WorldBankPartnershipFacility(KWPF),asingle-donortrustfundsponsoredbythegovernmentofSouthKoreaandadministeredbytheKWPFProgramManagementTeamwithintheWorldBankGroup.KWPFsupportsprojectsthatidentify,implement,andscalesustainabledevelopmentsolutionsindevelopingcountriesaroundtheglobe,drawingonthesignificantexperienceandexpertisegainedbySouthKoreaacrossitsowndevelopmentjourney.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ThispolicynotewasauthoredbyChristopherTullis,NayConstantine,andAdamCooper.Excellentfeedbackandinputwereprovidedthroughoutthedevelopmentofthisguide.Theauthorsthankthefollowingindividualsfortheirvariouscontributions:AudreyAriss,DavidBlack,VictoriaEsquivel-Korsiak,IssamKhayat,DariaLavrentieva,VikyManaila,JonathanMarskell,SlavinaPancheva,DavidPorteous,LaraWanna,GillanWard,andMatthewZoller.TheauthorsarealsoindebtedtoinvaluablecommentsfromourexpertpeerreviewersHarishNatarajan,DavidSatola,andVijayVujjini.

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EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Trustliesatthefoundationofallcommercialandadministrativetransactions,whichforcenturieshaverelieduponthehandwrittensignatureforauthentication.Astransactionsaredigitalized,thesignaturesthatprovidetrustinthemmustalsobecomeelectronic.Thelackoftrustedandlegally-recognizedmeansofauthenticatingelectronictransactionshasforcedacontinuedrelianceonin-personhandwrittensignatures,underminingdigitalizationeffortsbynecessitatingrecoursetoin-personinteractiontocompleteatransaction.

In-personhandwrittensignaturesintheanalogueworldarenotaparticularlysecuremeansofauthentication.Whentransactionsaredigitalized,newsecurityissuesarise,astheeasewithwhichdigitaldatacanbeduplicatedoralteredintroducesadditionalvulnerabilitiesthatneverexistedwithpaper.Toaddresstheseconcerns,electronicsignatureframeworksprovideameansofauthenticatingthevariouselectronictransactionsinawaythatfacilitatestheemergenceofatrusteddigitaleconomy.

Thispolicynotepresentselectronicsignaturesintermsoftheirfourmainfunctions:(1)identifyingthesigner,(2)attributingthesignaturetothesigner,(3)recordingthesigner’sintenttosign,and(4)assuringtheintegrityofthesigneddataandprotectingagainsttampering.Notalltransactionsrequireahighdegreeofassuranceofallfourofthesefunctions.Indeed,forlower-risktransactions,attemptingtoassureahighleveloftrustinallfourfunctionsmaybecounterproductive,forexample,ifdoingsoleadstoexcessivecostorfrictionsforusersthatdissuadethemfromtransactinginthefirstplace.Therefore,policymakersshouldbalanceprioritiesbetweensecurityandusabilitytoensurewidespreadadoptionofelectronicsignaturesolutions.

Becausedifferenttypesoftransactionshaveverydifferentrequirements,electronicsignatureframeworksshouldbedesignedaroundarisk-basedapproachthatallowsdifferentapproachesaccordingtotheneedsoftheusecase.Lowriskusecasesmayhaveverybasicrequirements.Wheneverweclickan“Iagree”buttontoconsenttotermsandconditions,enteraPINcodetoauthorizeapayment,ortypeournameattheendofanemailortextmessage—allofthesegestures

mayrepresentaformofelectronicsignature.Attemptingtoregulatesuchtechniquesoutofexistenceinanattempttoreplacethemwithmoresophisticatedmechanismscanbecounterproductive.However,astransactionsbecomeriskier—forexample,duetoahighmonetaryvalueorariskoflegalliability—moresophisticatedelectronicsignaturesolutionsmaybenecessarytoenabledigitalization.Cryptographictechniques,inparticular,canbeusedtoprotecttheintegrityofsigneddocumentsandpreventsubsequenttampering.Suchsophisticalelectronicsignaturetechniquescanprovideaveryhighleveloftrust,enablingeventhehighest-valueandriskiesttransactionstobesafelydigitalized.Fulldigitaltransformationcannotoccurunlessalltransactions,regardlessofrisk,canbebroughtonline.

Theelementof“trust”inelectronicsignaturesiscomposedofasetofcomplementaryandmutuallyreinforcinglayers.Eachlayerbuildsonthelowerlayerstoextendtrustbeyondwhatcanbeachievedwithoutit.Thefoundationallayerisrootedinexisting“analog”sourcesoftrust.Theroleofatrustframeworkshouldnotbetocrowdouttheseexistingsourcesoftrustbutinsteadtobuildonthem.Trustframeworksaccomplishthisbyformalizingasetofminimumrequirementsforelectronicsignatures,providingtransparencyintheirreliability.Trustframeworksshouldnotonlyfocusonthetechnologycomponents,butalsothepeopleandprocesselements,whichareas—ifnotmore—importantforprovidingtrust.Finally,thelegalframeworkgiveslegalweighttotherulesinthetrustframeworkandclarifieswhenandhowsignaturescanbelegallyrecognized,bothdomesticallyandacrossborders.Akeyfunctionofthelegalframeworkistogiveelectronicsignaturesthesamelegalweightashandwrittensignatures.Manylegalframeworksaccomplishthisbyenshriningthelegalequivalenceofelectronicandpapersignaturesintolaw,ensuringthatsignaturesprovidedonlinearenotdisqualifiedfromhavingalegallybindingnature.

Thepolicynoteconcludeswithsuggestionsatthestrategy,legal,andtechnicallevels.Governmentsshoulddesignelectronicsignatureframeworksaccordingtodemand,aligningwiththeneedsofusersandverifiers.Theyshouldseektopromoteadoptionacrossthedigitaleconomybyaddressingbarriersandbalancingsecurityandusability,while

promotinginteroperability.Takingarisk-basedapproachthatdefinesoutcome-basedlevelsofassurancecanprovideforanelectronicsignatureschemethatsupportsbothlow-andhigh-risktransactions.Trustframeworksshouldensurestronglinkageswithlegalidentitysystemsfordigitalverificationandauthentication,enhancingtrustinelectronicsignatures.

Maintainingtechnologyneutralitycanpromoteinnovationandproductdifferentiation,allowingsystemstoevolveandscalewithchangingrequirements.Implementations

requiringsophisticatedcryptographictechnologies,suchaspublickeyinfrastructure,shouldbelimitedtohigh-riskusecaseswheretheadditionalcostandcomplexityofsuchapproachesisjustified.Aligningtrustframeworkswithinternationalstandardscanfacilitatecross-borderrecognition,ensuringtrustandfacilitatingcross-bordertrade.Governmentsshouldsupportsustainablebusinessmodelsfortheactorsimplementingelectronicsignaturesandfacilitateprivatesectorparticipationtomaintainlong-termfinancialviability.

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1INTRODUCTION

Astheworldbecomesincreasinglydigital,theneedforsecure,efficient,usable,andlegally-recognizedmethodsoftransactingonlinebecomesevermoreimportant.Electronicsignaturesareakeyenablerofdigitaltransactions,allowingpartiestointeractonlinewhilebeingabletotrustthattheyareprotectedfromthevarioustypesoffraudthatcanotherwiseplaguedigitalinteractions.1Electronicsignaturescanprovideassuranceoftheidentityofthepartiestoatransactionaswellasprotecttheintegrityofatransactionbypreventingexpostmodificationofimportantdetails,suchascontract2termsortransactionamounts.Alongsideothertechniquesforauthenticatingelectronictransactions,3electronicsignaturesareavitalcomponentinthemovetowardspaperlessenvironments,astheyreducecostsandstreamlineprocessesinbothprivateandpublicsectors,enhancecustomerexperienceinelectroniccommerce,andfacilitatetheexpansionofthedigitaleconomy.

Althoughthelegalframeworksexplicitlyregulatingelectronicsignaturestendtobemoredevelopedinhigher-incomecountries,widespreaduseofelectronicsignaturesisacommonoccurrenceincountriesofallincomelevels.Forexample,whenapoor,smallholderfarmerusesamobilemoneyaccounttocashoutasocialassistancebenefitorpayhischildren’sschoolfees,thePINcodehetypesintohisphonetoauthenticatehisidentityandauthorizethetransactionisasimpleformofelectronicsignature.

So,ifelectronicsignaturesarealreadyhavingatransformationaleffectworldwidewithoutnecessarilyrequiringanyspecificattentionorregulation,whatisthepurposeofthispolicynote?Theanswerliesintheneed

tomovepastthelimitationsofcurrent,often-rudimentaryelectronicsignatureframeworkstoavoidbottleneckingthecontinuousdevelopmentofthedigitaleconomy.Why,forexample,canthePINcodeonthefarmer’smobilephonenotbeusedtoauthorizeothertypesoftransactionsapartfromthoseonhismobilemoneyaccount?Whyaresuchelectronicsignaturesseeminglyconfinedtospecificsectorsoftheeconomy,andoftennotavailableforinteractionswithgovernment?Whyisittypicallyonlylow-valueaspectsofservicedeliverythataredigitalizedtoday,withhigher-valuetransactionsstillrequiringanin-personvisittosignapaperform?Thisnotewillexplorethewaysthatregulationscanimprovetrustinelectronicsignatures,allowingthemtobeusedtoauthenticatehigher-risktransactions.

Inlow-incomecontexts,electronicsignaturescansupportfinancialinclusionbyenablingdigitalbankingaswellase-commerce,extendingthereachofthesesectorstoremotepopulationsthatareoftendifficulttoaccess.Similarly,inpublicservices,electronicsignaturescanmakegovernmentservicesmoreaccessibleandefficientbyreducingbureaucratichurdlesandimprovingtransparency.However,implementingelectronicsignaturesinsuchcontextsdoescomewithuniquechallenges,suchasmitigatingadoptionbarrierslikepoorconnectivity,limiteddigitalskills,andtrustissuesamongusers.Despitethesechallenges,thepotentialbenefitsofusingelectronicsignaturestofacilitatedigitaltransformationmakesthemanessentialtoolinthedigitalageacrossallregionsoftheworld.

1OECDRecommendationonElectronicAuthenticationandOECDGuidanceforElectronicAuthentication,2007,accessibleat:

/

digital/ieconomy/38921342.pdf

2Forthesakeofsimplicityandeaseofunderstanding,thisnoteusestheterm“contract”torefertovarioustypesoflegalacts,notnecessarilylimitedtocontractsinthestrictlegalsense.Forexample,asignaturemayalsobeconsideredinthecontextofawill,whichlegallyisnotconsideredacontractbetweenpartiesbutratheraunilateralact.Thisnoteelidessuchdistinctionsforthesakeofsimplicity.

3Thenomenclatureofthetechniquesusedforauthenticationofelectronictransactionscanvaryaccordingtojurisdiction.Somelegalframeworks

reservetheterm“signature”forcaseswheresignatoriesarenaturalpersons,distinguishingthemfromcaseswheretransactionscarriedoutbylegalpersons,suchasfirmsorgovernmententities,witharelatedtermsuchas“stamp”or“seal.”O(jiān)thertechniques,suchassecuringacommunicationchannel,mayalso

provideadditionaltrustandcontributetothetransactionbeingconsideredauthentic.Foradditionaldiscussion,seealso,UNCITRALModelLawonElectronicSignatureswithGuidetoEnactment2001,accessibleat:

/sites//files/media-documents/uncitral/en/ml-elecsig-e.pdf

Tothisend,thepurposeofthisnoteistoguidepolicymakersthroughtheimplementationofeffectivetrustandlegalframeworkstoenabletheuseofrobustandfit-for-purposeelectronicsignaturesthroughoutthedigitaleconomy.Thenoteisrelevantforpolicymakersworkingonsuchelectronicsignaturesframeworksatnational,regional,orsectorallevels.Followingabriefpresentationofelectronicsignaturesandtheirroleinenablingthedigitaleconomy,thebulkofthenotefocusesonhowtocreatethepolicyenvironmentneededtoprovidefortrustin,andadoptionof,electronicsignaturesbyusersandrelyingparties.4

Apremiseofthisnoteisthat“trust”indigitalinteractionsisnotsolely,orevenprimarily,afunctionoftechnologychoices,butisratheraproductofvariouspeople,process,andcontextualfactors.Thesemulti-dimensionalsourcesoftrustcomplement,andinmanycasespre-exist,theapplicationofdigitaltechnologies.Thenoteexamineshowtheenablingenvironmentcanbecalibratedtofurthertwoparallelobjectives:(1)capitalizingonexistingsourcesoftrustintheanalogworldandbringingthemintothe

digitaleconomy,and(2)leveragingdigitaltechnologiestoextendthistrusttonewtypesoftransactionsaswellastointeractionswithactorswhowouldnototherwisebetrusted.

Achievingbothgoalssimultaneouslyhasthepotentialtomultiplythenumberofelectronictransactionswhilealsoincreasingconfidenceinthem,therebyenablingthegrowthofthedigitaleconomy.Conversely,failuretoachieveeitheroftheseobjectiveswouldposeasignificantbottlenecktothegrowthofonlinetransactions.

Thenoteanalyzes“trust”inelectronicsignaturesasasetofcomplementaryandmutually-reinforcinglayers.Eachlayerbuildsonthelowertoextendtrustbeyondwhatcanbeachievedwithoutit.

Layer1:Sourcesoftrust

?Pre-existingtrust.Trustcanstemfromexistingsources,suchaspartieswhoalreadyknoweachother,inadditiontocontextualsourcesoftrust,suchasasecurecommunicationchannel.

?Evidenceofreliability.Existingsourcesoftrustcanbeextendedusingvarioustechniques—withpeople,process,andtechnologyelements—toprovideevidenceofasignature’sreliabilitybeyondwhatwouldbepossiblerelyingonlyonpre-existingtrust.

Layer2:Trustframework

?Requirementsforevidenceandassurance.Thesourcesoftrustarethenformalizedandextendedthroughatrustframework,whichlaysoutminimumrequirementsforthepeople,process,andtechnologyelementsofasignaturethatprovideevidenceofitsreliability.Thetrustframeworkextendstrustthroughstandardizationandtransparency.

?Levelsofassurance.Thetrustframeworkmayalsoincludemultiplelevelsofassuranceorlevelsoftrust.Suchtieredrequirementscanbettersupporttheneedsoftransactionsofvaryingrisklevels,allowingasignatureofappropriatestrengthtobematchedwithatransactionofcorrespondingrisk.

Layer3:Legalframework

?Nationallegalframework.Thelegalframeworkisthesetoflawsandregulationsgoverningelectronictransactionsandsignatures.Itestablishesthelegalvalidityandenforceabilityofthetrustframeworkandclarifiesthelegalimplications,inparticulartheconditionsunderwhichelectronicsignaturesareconsideredequivalenthandwrittensignatures.

?Mutualrecognitionframework.Toensureacommonbasisfortrustandcross-borderrecognitionandinteroperabilityofelectronicsignatures,legalandtrustframeworkscanbeharmonizedinternationally,extendingtrustacrossborders.

Exactdetailsofhowelectronicsignaturescanbeimplementedusinganyspecifictechnologyisoutsidethescopeofthisnote.Referencestospecifictechnologies—whetherpaper-basedordigital—aremadeonlyforillustrativepurposes,andthusshouldnotbeinterpretedascomprehensiveorasendorsementsofthetechnologiescited.Inparticular,thedetailsofhowhigh-trustelectronicsignatures(sometimesreferredtoas“qualifiedelectronicsignatures”)canbeimplementedusingcryptographictechniquesandaccompanyingpublickeyinfrastructure(PKI)isoutsidethescopeofthisnote;readersinterestedinlearningmoreaboutPKIimplementationmodelsshouldrefertothecompanionnoteinthisseriesentitled,PublicKeyInfrastructure:ImplementingHigh-TrustElectronicSignatures.Additionally,thescopeofthisnotedoesnotcoverindetailallthevariousrelatedtechniquesthatexist

4Arelyingpartyisanentity(personororganization)thatreliesonanelectronicsignaturebyverifyingit.

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Figure1:Layeredmodelofdigitaltrust

Legal

Framework

MutualRecognition

NationalLegalFramework

Trust

Framework

LevelsofAssurance

Requirementsfor

evidenceandassurance

SourcesofTrust

EvidenceofReliability

Pre-existingTrust

forauthenticatingelectronictransactions(e.g.,stampsandseals),butinsteadfocusesontheparticularcaseofelectronicsignature.Althoughallelectronicauthenticationtechniquesarecoveredcomprehensively,itshouldbenotedthatthetechnical,legal,andoperationalunderpinningsofmethodssuchanelectronicsealsareverysimilartothoseusedforelectronicsignature,andduetothis,muchofthediscussioninthepresentpolicynotemayapply