Signicat, a provider of electronic identity and electronic signature solutions, has joined the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
The RegTech has joined their technical committee on Electronic Signatures and Infrastructure (ESI), which is the standardisation body responsible for most European standards on digital signature and trust services; CEN TC 224 additionally produces some standards, notably on security evaluation.
ESI’s standards are designed to meet the demands of eIDAS regulation, ensuring interoperability across borders, and be applicable beyond Europe.
“Signicat’s electronic signature services are designed to be standards-compliant, and with Signicat becoming a qualified trust service provider according to the EU eIDAS Regulation, standards-compliance is increasingly important for us,” the company said in an announcement.
“The decision to join ETSI/ESI is a strategic move to not only use standards, but to also get first-hand knowledge of and influence on their development.”
European standards on digital signature and trust services are grouped in six areas. When completed, standards will cover all trust services defined by eIDAS. CEN (the European Committee for Standardization) covers one area while the rest of the standards are produced by ETSI.
While the eIDAS Regulation sets the scope of the standards work, ETSI’s strategy is to produce technical standards that are globally applicable and not targeted at a specific legal environment. Notably, ETSI uses the technical term “digital signature”, a signature created by use of public key cryptography and PKI certificates, to distinguish from the in-principle technology neutral, legal terms “electronic signature” and “electronic seal” used by eIDAS.
Signicat allows businesses throughout Europe to accept itsme as an official mobile ID, meaning that Belgian citizens will be able to use their digital ID to access services across the continent.
Earlier this year, the RegTech partnered with Belgium Mobile ID. As part of the deal, it will integrate the Belgian’s itsme digital identity scheme into its Digital Identity Platform to help Belgian financial institutions, online retailers, and other entities attract new customers and more seamlessly engage with existing customers.
Signicat also recently signed a digital identity partnership with IT security company Verisec, the developers of Freja eID. As part of the deal Signicat will now offer Freja eID as a signing and authentication method—enabling retail, financial, and other organisations to use Freja eID to on-board and engage customers.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
