Electronic signatures and electronic seals are cryptographic operations that associate a document (the signed or sealed document) with the identity of a natural or legal person.
Both operations are technically similar. Their main difference is that the electronic signature is associated with a natural person and the electronic seal is associated with a legal person.
When the electronic signature is carried out with an electronic certificate and its associated private key, there can be different variants:
- Advanced Signature. There are no special requirements regarding the certificate.
- Semi-qualified Signature. The certificate must be qualified. That is to say, it must contain the OID “id-etsi-qcs-QcCompliance” 0.4.0.1862.1.1 qcs-QcCompliance(1)
- Qualified Signature. The certificate must be qualified and based on a qualified device. I.e. it must contain the OID “id-etsi-qcs-QcCompliance” 0.4.0.1862.1.1 qcs-QcCompliance(1) and the OID “id-etsi-qcs-QcSSCD” 0.4.0.1862.1.4 qcs-QcCompliance(4).
Similarly, when the electronic seal is performed with an electronic certificate and its associated private key, the same variants may occur:
- Advanced Seal. There are no special requirements regarding the certificate.
- Semi-qualified Seal. The certificate must be qualified. I.e. it must contain the OID “id-etsi-qcs-QcCompliance” 0.4.0.1862.1.1 qcs-QcCompliance(1)
- Qualified Seal. The certificate must be qualified and based on a qualified device. i.e. it must contain the OID “id-etsi-qcs-QcCompliance” 0.4.0.1862.1.1 qcs-QcCompliance(1) and the OID “id-etsi-qcs-QcSSCD” 0.4.0.1862.1.4 qcs-QcCompliance(4)
Further technical details can be found in ETSI standard EN 319 412-5.
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