Nieuwegein, Netherlands (Nov. 26, 2019) — 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.
“QuoVadis has seen meteoric growth in demand for its cloud-based electronic signature platforms in recent years,” said Patrick Beckman Lapré, director of sales & marketing at QuoVadis Trustlink B.V. in the Netherlands. “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.”
Continued Beckman Lapré, “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.
About DigiCert + QuoVadis
DigiCert + QuoVadis is the Qualified Trust Service Provider of DigiCert, providing solutions for issuing digital certificates, as well as creating legally valid electronic signatures, electronic seals and time stamps. With offices across Europe, QuoVadis is accredited under eIDAS in the Netherlands and Belgium, and in Switzerland under ZertES. QuoVadis also is an issuer under eID programmes such as PKIoverheid and eHerkenning in the Netherlands, and is one of the largest issuers of Qualified Web Authentication Certificates (QWACs) for open banking under the Payment Services Directive (PSD2). DigiCert + QuoVadis are members of the Cloud Signature Consortium.
About DigiCert, Inc.
DigiCert is the world’s leading provider of scalable TLS/SSL, IoT and PKI solutions for identity and encryption. The most innovative companies, including 89% of the Fortune 500 and 97 of the 100 top global banks, choose DigiCert for its expertise in identity and encryption for web servers and Internet of Things devices. DigiCert supports TLS and other digital certificates for PKI deployments at any scale through its certificate lifecycle management platform, CertCentral®
The company is recognised for its enterprise-grade certificate management platform, fast and knowledgeable customer support, and market-leading security solutions. For the latest DigiCert news and updates, visit digicert.com or follow @digicert.
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