Analysis of electronic signature system

At present, the national government promotes paperless , Electronic signatures began to appear frequently in various media articles . Especially after Tencent E-Sign launched a small receipt , More and more people pay attention to electronic signatures , Please refer to Handwritten receipts are too much trouble , Next time, use wechat to open ！ .

Before that ,E Autograph 、 Fada and other electronic signature products have already appeared , This paper discusses the supporting system of electronic signature , Make a general analysis . throw away a brick in order to get a gem , It is hoped that more in-depth electronic signature technical articles will appear .（ It is necessary to read this article 8 minute ）

One 、 Application scenario model

Before analyzing the electronic signature system , We need to understand the application scenario model of e-signature , Here is my personal understanding .

B2B

Between enterprises , There are various contracts 、 agreement , But there are some outstanding features ：

1. They are generally standardized , This kind of access to electronic signatures is relatively friendly , Because the reuse rate of the signing scenario will be relatively high , Reduce the cost of e-signature docking .
2. Generally, they are more formal , This requires that the process of electronic signing must have a serious environment , For example, access Tencent conference , Layout an online signing scenario, etc .

C2C

Individual to individual signing scenarios , be relative to B2B It is very flexible , Features are also obvious ：

1. Most are not standardized , This kind of access to electronic signatures is complex and troublesome . This aspect is more likely from the perspective of legal effect , Standardize most non-standard scenarios , Let us use the common template ; At the same time, the general template should not be too rigid , Flexibility and scalability must be maintained
2. In most cases, it is quite casual , Or less serious , More convenient . For electronic signatures , It's about having the best possible experience , Meet the shortest path for users to complete the signing process .

Typical scenarios, such as the rental contract directly signed with the landlord 、 Personal and personal receipts, etc .

B2C/C2B

B2C/C2B The signing scenario , The characteristics are just in B2B、C2C Between , Existing standards 、 ceremonial , There are also flexible , It is also the application scenario where most people perceive electronic signatures . Typical examples are labor contracts 、 Competition agreement, etc

other

There may also be some other application scenarios for electronic signatures , There are more cases . Some weak proof scenarios , For example, some weak proof scenarios , Just complete the signing , As a form , It is not necessary to have a legal basis . Or the scenario of unilateral certification , The electronic signature system is weakened to electronic signature . The core process in the next section , Not necessarily applicable to this application scenario .

Summary

On the whole , The E-Sign system should deal with various application scenarios , Some of the features to have ：

1. The most important ： Legitimacy
2. Standardization of signing scenarios 、 Flexibility
3. Enterprise docking process lightweight 、 Personal docking is convenient
4. A good experience , Shortest path
5. Good scalability , Deal with various signing scenarios and emergencies

Before concluding the application scenario , One additional thing to emphasize is , Application products and application scenarios are independent , There is no absolute relationship . For example, a small receipt , The current application scenario is C2C, That is, a debit note between individuals / Receipt , It can also be extended to enterprises and individuals 、 Receipt business scenarios between enterprises .

Two 、 The core processes

Around most scenes , The core process of the electronic signature system , Including the enterprises needed before signing the contract 、 Personal docking process , Develop a contracting template 、 Signing scenario , Initiate signing process , Signing process .

1. docking

Enterprises

Enterprise docking , The first problem to face is the enterprise qualification , The electronic signature system has high requirements for enterprise qualification inspection , It is easy to think of a large number of materials that need to be prepared when handling some certificates 、 Running around from place to place .

The electronic signature system is here to lighten the process , Third party authentication docking will be considered , For example, with the help of Tencent cloud's enterprise docking capability , Tencent cloud assistant is used to enable enterprises to authenticate quickly . However, the qualification inspection of electronic signature may not be completely consistent with the third-party authentication , This is often encountered when connecting with some channels , Such as enterprise wechat , Therefore, it is necessary to provide additional input of supplementary information and the corresponding review process .

In enterprise docking , There is also the concept of agent , This is the specific individual who participates in the contract signing within the enterprise , Similar to the concept of legal person, but not equal to legal person , It is generally necessary to judge who the signing representative is in the enterprise .

personal

Personal docking , It is already a mature scene in China , Usually it is ID card plus face recognition 、 Mobile phone verification code 、 Bank card information check, etc .

However, the application scenarios are different , Will be in two elements 、 Three elements 、 Choose between the four elements check , It is necessary for the electronic signature system to consider convenience for different scenarios , Also consider security 、 Legitimacy . There is no expansion here .

2. Custom contract

Signing scenario

Customize the signing scenario , It refers to the circumstances under which the signatory signs .

In the contemporary era of mobile popularization , Mobile signing is naturally a very important scenario . At present, the E-Sign system mainly signs on wechat apps , Of course, there will be H5 Signed layout . And for more serious scenes , It can be combined with remote conference systems such as Tencent conference layout signing environment , If it is signed on site , It may also be embedded in some field equipment layout signing environment .

Signing template

The signing template mainly refers to the template for signing documents , It can be understood as the specific document to be signed , These are to be submitted and prepared before signing .

There are various forms of documentation for sponsors , Such as PDF file 、Word file 、Web Web pages and so on , The electronic signature system usually uses PDF As a standard template , Convert all kinds of documents into PDF, And then in PDF Generate control on , It is used for filling in subsequent information and PDF synthesis .

Control refers to the PDF Areas in the template that need to be filled with information , The simple understanding is the place where information should be filled in the paper document , For example, the enterprise to be filled in / Personal information , Signing area, etc . At present, there are several ways to locate controls ：

1. Based on coordinates

That is, based on PDF The coordinates on 、 size , Define a control , Usually in pixels px In units of . This is similar to the front end processing input fields , You need to define the coordinate value of the input box 、 And the length and width of the input box .

1. Based on text fields

Usually based on PDF Form field , Please refer to PDF Form field properties . This form of docking costs less , stay PDF Make the form on the , Import to the E-Sign system .

1. Based on keywords

Is in the PDF in , Search for keywords , Generate control after keyword , Such keywords must be unique and representative words in the signed documents, etc .

3. Initiate process

In the custom signing scenario 、 Signing template / After the document , You can start the process . The process initiation operation itself is relatively simple , Through the console 、 Or call API Initiate a signing process in the form of , Then notify the contracting parties to sign , Of course, in combination with the impassable signing scenarios , Each has its own form , There is no expansion here

4. Signing process

Finally, the signing process , It is also the most intuitive part in the process of electronic signature .

Before or at the time of signature , It is usually necessary to authenticate the signer , Such as face, core, body, etc . Then the signatory opens the signing document at the signing end , To sign , The specific signing method can be handwritten signature , Or electronic signature .

1. Based on handwritten signatures

Handwritten signature means signing , A handwritten signature by the signatory at the signing end , This is also the most commonly used form at present .

1. Based on electronic seal

The electronic seal is usually drawn by the system or uploaded by the signatory before signing , On behalf of the undersigned . Most of them are used by enterprises , In the future, more and more personal seals will be used .

The operation of the signatory is completed , However, the electronic signature system finally 、 It is also the most important link after that . I.e. after signing pdf synthesis 、 existing evidence .

Upon completion of the signature by the undersigned , The electronic signature system needs to fill the signature content into the control , namely pdf synthesis , Finally, a signed document is formed , For the signatory to view 、 Download, etc. . In order to ensure the legality of the signed documents 、 No tampering , You need to deposit the signed documents , Keep it in a place with credibility , For example, Tencent Zhixin chain .

3、 ... and 、 Safety guarantee

In the last section, we mainly talked about the core process , Around the core process , It needs a lot of security , Here we mainly talk about data security 、 certificate 、 existing evidence 、 Privatization .

Data security

In various scenarios of e-signing , There are a lot of sensitive data , From the signing enterprise / Human information 、 Confidentiality of signed documents 、 Confidentiality of the contents of the document 、 The confidentiality of the final documents should be protected . Here from the data store 、 File storage is a two-way street .

1. data storage

Data storage usually considers multi-dimensional security , For example, data is stored separately at sensitive levels 、 Important sensitive information is stored as ciphertext , Try not to drop the secret key . In this regard, we can refer to some requirements of the company's data security audit .

1. File store

File store , Similar to data storage , But it can be handled uniformly . For example, put the file encryption in cos On , The secret key uses other security methods to ensure security .

certificate

namely CA certificate , It needs to be recognized by the state CA Institutions get certificates , Usually, the information required by the certificate will be given to CA Institutions , call CA Institutional API Generate corresponding certificate .

CA Certificates are usually divided into several categories

1. Enterprise long-term certificate - Longer time , Such as 1 year

After the real name of the enterprise , Generate private key , from CA The institution obtains the enterprise certificate , Store locally , Use... When the enterprise signs

1. Personal long-term certificate - The time limit is long , Such as 1 year

After personal real name , Generate private key , from CA Institutions obtain personal certificates , Store locally , Use... When signing by individuals

1. Event type certificate - The time limit is short , Such as 1 Hours

When an individual signs , Generate private key , from CA The organization obtains the event type certificate , Temporarily stored locally , Use... When signing by individuals

stay PDF in , You can check the seal / Signed certificate 、 effectiveness （ Usually use Adobe It will be better , other PDF There are some problems with the software ）.

Here's a little extra , At home CA Issued by the manufacturer CA certificate , stay Adobe Some of you will see problems with signatures , It's really a question of presentation , Not related to certificate technology . This involves AATL、 overseas CA And so on , There is no expansion here . For details, you can consult the relevant legal department .

existing evidence

Generated signature file , In order to ensure the legality of the signed documents 、 Tamper proof, etc , Third party public trust means are required . We use Tencent Zhixin chain based on blockchain technology .

After the document is finally formed , The corresponding file hash、 And some necessary information , Send to the chain of letters . Zhixin chain itself is also gradually expanding the scope of trust , For example, through micro courts and other channels , It provides a convenient channel for obtaining evidence . Please refer to To the official website of the letter chain

Privatization

Mention the electronic signature system , What is essential is privatization . Medium and large enterprises , In docking with the electronic signature system , Most will require privatized deployment , Will file 、 Data control is within the enterprise .

The way of privatization deployment is diversified , Different enterprises have different requirements . Of course, the system design is to be as general as possible , Such as the deployment system based on private cloud , Or the installation package for convenient deployment . I'm not going to expand it here , You are welcome to put forward proposals , Discuss together .

Conclusion

A good workman does his work well , You must sharpen your tools first . From the design of electronic signature system , To the rapid development of e-signature business , Popularization of the masses , It must go through a process of constant polishing . Looking forward to more in-depth articles , Gradually form the ecology of electronic signature . You are also welcome to raise various questions about the electronic signature system 、 Suggest , Discuss together .