A signature is a unique and personalized mark used for authentication. Individuals use it on documents or any instruments to provide consent, declare approval and commitment, and assert awareness and obligation. For centuries, signatures have been established as a global requirement to grant and validate legal consent and to represent the signee.
Due to signatures being the most basic requirement for authentication, almost all businesses and organizations, including financial and non-profit institutions, legal agencies, and private-owned businesses, require signatures to verify the identity of the person they are transaction with. During the course of our lives, we sign countless documents. Therefore, our signatures must be distinct and hard to copy to avoid legal problems, as today, fraudsters can effectively imitate a signature through different methods. They can forge signatures to obtain the information of their victims to conduct illegal activities. Due to signatures being a powerful tool holding legal power, individuals should take prudent measures to protect themselves from possible unlawful activities as no security mechanism, whether manual or digital, can provide absolute assurance against fraud and identity theft.
Today, traditional wet signatures and electronic signatures are two of the most used types of signatures. Both are applied for authentication or the assurance of identity, data integrity or the assurance that the information provided has not been altered since the application of a signature, and non-repudiation or the concern with providing proof to a third-party that an individual participated in a transaction and is thereby protected against false denials of participation.
A wet signature is a physical mark on a document using a pen. It is the oldest and most-used type of signature and has been around for many centuries now. On the contrary, an electronic signature refers to an electronic symbol by an individual on an electronic document. While a wet signature is limited to a unique symbol, typically a name in the cursive form, an electronic signature may be a typed name on an electronic form or document, an image of a handwritten signature, a personal identification number (PIN), and a signature using a touchscreen device such as a smartphone or tablet.
Legalities
There are stringent laws that govern and protect both wet and electronic signatures from illegal use. The United States is composed of 51 legal systems — 50 states and the federal government. Thus, it is possible to infer to an extent the requirements relevant to written signatures. In general, contracts and legal obligations do not have to be in writing unless the law orders otherwise. The validity of handwritten signatures is almost frequently associated with Statutes of Frauds, which states that for certain kinds of contracts to be enforceable, some note or memorandum in writing signed by the parties must exist. To qualify what “signed” indicates, Article 1, General Provision, Part 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code states that “signed” includes any symbol executed or adopted with present intention to authenticate a writing. Within this context, a record is “signed” if a symbol is provided. On the other hand, electronic signatures are governed by the U.S. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN Act) of 2000 and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) of 1999.
The ESIGN Act is a federal law that grants legal recognition to e-signatures and records under the conditions that all parties choose to use electronic documents and to sign them electronically while UETA provides that when a law requires a signature, an electronic signature can fulfill that requirement when the parties involved in a transaction have agreed to transact electronically. Nevertheless, both acts solidified the legal landscape for the use of electronic records and signatures.
Security
In terms of security, both are still vulnerable to unlawful use. Nevertheless, a handwritten signature is still one of the most convenient and accepted methods to make a document legally binding and an electronic signature uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology, reducing the risk of fraud; it abides by the highest level of security that follows global standards.
Comparison
At present, both manual and electronic signatures are legally binding, providing safe methods to protect individuals from possible fraudulent activities as they provide authentication and consent. In addition, they provide the security services of authentication, data integrity, and non-repudiation. While both have similarities, they also have notable differences. Handwritten signatures are straightforward and easy to provide while electronic signatures are a bit complex as it requires the workings of computer operating systems and communications protocols that many people do not completely understand. In addition, the data integrity service provided by electronic signatures is much stronger than that provided by handwritten signatures. Furthermore, handwritten signatures can be witnessed, whereas electronic signatures cannot be.
Overall, the decision on whether to use manual or electronic signatures depends on many factors and needs of a user, such as the required level of security, cost, and ease of use.