What Is an Electronic Enclosure Seal?
An electronic enclosure seal is a software or tool that replaces traditional handwritten signatures or seals with a digital equivalent. As society moves towards paperless operations, electronic signatures and seals are gaining legal recognition, making electronic enclosure seals increasingly common in business contracts.
However, electronic enclosure seals face risks such as unauthorized stamping by someone other than the decision maker, or the data itself being tampered with. To address these issues, security measures like authentication functions, recording identification information, and time stamping are essential.
How to Create an Electronic Enclosure Seal
Electronic enclosure seals can be created for various document files, including Word and PDF formats. Depending on the file type, they can be applied without special software.
Word Files
In Microsoft Office Word, electronic enclosure seals can be created using the graphic creation tool. This involves designing a vertical oval, leaving it unfilled, and placing the name of the stamping entity in the center. However, due to the ease of tampering, such seals are not typically used in official contexts.
PDF Files
Adobe Acrobat Reader offers a more secure electronic enclosure seal function for PDF files, though concerns about tamper-proofing remain.
Security of Electronic Enclosure Seals
The security of electronic enclosure seals is crucial, considering the risks of forgery and unauthorized use. Authenticating the stamping person and protecting against tampering are key challenges. For instance, seals created using Word’s graphic tool or scanned from a physical seal can be easily misused.
Enhancing security involves incorporating authentication functions and saving identification information for each stamping record. This approach helps verify who stamped the seal and prevents identity theft. Additionally, copy protection features ensure that stamped images cannot be reused without authorization.
Prevention of Tampering With Electronic Enclosure Seals
Time stamping is another effective method to prevent tampering. When an electronic enclosure seal is applied, recording a timestamp can prove the existence of the electronic data at the time of stamping, ensuring the decision maker’s approval of the content.
Legally, time stamps are often required to validate electronic enclosure seals. For example, under the Electronic Bookkeeping Law, a timestamp of less than two months is needed to validate electronic data when using electronic enclosure seals on mediums without history retention. The trend towards paperless documentation will likely increase the use of electronic enclosure seals, emphasizing the importance of authentication, identification, and time-stamping for security.