The electronic signature is a revolution in the security of data transmission. Although still treated as a stepchild in Poland, this technology is the first step towards the development of e-business and e-administration.
Securing transmitted information is one of the basic duties of company and institution management boards. All the more so if this information contains personal data, account numbers, etc. One of the mechanisms allowing to secure data transmitted on the Internet or stored on electronic media is the use of an e-signature.
Without initials
On September 18, 2001, the Sejm passed the Act on Electronic Signature (Journal of Laws No. 130, item 1450), which was signed in a traditional manner and electronically on October 11, 2001, by the President of the Republic of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski. According to the Act, an e-signature is “data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data and which serves as a method of authenticating the person signing” (Article 3 paragraph 1). A distinction can be made between an ordinary and a so-called secure electronic signature. Only the latter is treated by law as equivalent to a handwritten personal signature. It is characterized by the fact that it is uniquely linked to the signatory, is created using secure electronic signature creation devices and data under the sole control of the signatory, and is linked to the data to which it relates in such a way that any subsequent change in the data is detectable (according to Article 3 paragraph 2). The secure electronic signature is based on a one-way cryptographic hash function. It constitutes an integral part of the document. This means that any change to the data that has been signed entails a change in the data constituting the e-signature. Therefore, there is no need to initial every page of the document or to distinguish between the original and its copy, because no document bearing a valid secure electronic signature can be altered. This provides sufficient guarantee of its authenticity and confirmation of the identity of the person signing the document.