DigiCert + QuoVadis has been certified in the Netherlands and Belgium to provide remote Qualified Electronic Signatures for customers using its cloud-based Digital Signing Service (DSS) platform. QuoVadis, acquired by DigiCert in January 2019, is an accredited Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) in the Netherlands and Belgium under the EU eIDAS regulation 910/2014 and is able to offer EU trust services to all member states, as well as in Switzerland under ZertES.
Previously customers wishing to create eIDAS Qualified Electronic Signatures were required to use a Qualified Signature/Seal Creation Device (QCSD), such as a smartcard or cryptographic USB token, to create and store their signing keys. Security was largely a feature of the customer’s physical possession of the signing device.
As companies push towards the use of cloud platforms and mobile devices, users wish to complete their transactions completely online, including legally valid signatures from any device. The new certification attests that the security procedures, as well as the trustworthy systems and networks used by DigiCert + QuoVadis (such as the signature creation environment), are reliable. It also ensures that only properly identified signers have control of their cloud-based signing keys.
Patrick Beckman Lapré, director of sales & marketing at QuoVadis Trustlink B.V. in the Netherlands, said: “QuoVadis has seen meteoric growth in demand for its cloud-based electronic signature platforms in recent years. We have been able to fulfill many needs with roaming Advanced+ signatures, but to achieve the higher evidential value of Qualified Electronic Signatures, we were still required to use smartcard-based credentials.”
Beckman Lapré, added: “Now, as the first Dutch QTSP accredited, against the latest ETSI standards, to issue and manage Qualified certificates on remote hardware security modules, we can provide simplified Qualified signing for users from any device at any time.”
DigiCert + QuoVadis undertook a scope extension of its existing eIDAS certification under ETSI EN 319 411-2, performed by third-party auditors and accredited by Agentschap Telecom (the Dutch Supervisory Body) and FOD Economie (the Belgian Supervisory Body). The certification specifically addressed the Subject Device Provision Service or operating a remote QSCD on behalf of signers, which may include either natural persons (QCP-n-qscd) for electronic signatures or representatives of legal entities (QCP-l-qscd) for electronic seals.
QuoVadis has years of experience providing cloud signing to large enterprises from its DSS and PrimoSign platforms, including significant public sector entities and financial services institutions across Europe. In the Netherlands, the majority of the top 30 accounting firms use PKIoverheid professional certificates issued by QuoVadis for tasks such as digitally signing Standard Business Reporting (SBR) forms in compliance with Dutch regulations. With the additional backing of DigiCert, these customers can look forward to continually improving EU-trusted services and solutions.
QuoVadis worked with Ascertia to deliver the eIDAS-compliant solution behind the certification that allows users to sign using its own Digital Signing Service, or other partner services such as AdobeSign and SigningHub. DigiCert + QuoVadis are able to provide the remote Qualified signing service to customers throughout Europe and beyond. With the continued work to add new services and capabilities on the DigiCert modern back-end infrastructure, customers may benefit from worldwide scalability and a Europe-centric viewpoint.
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