LAWtrust, a global Certificate Authority (CA) and Africa’s leading provider of identity and Digital Trust Services, today announced it has joined the Cloud Signature Consortium.
LAWtrust will work closely with the Cloud Signature Consortium to help drive the development of a common technical specification that will assist with the global adoption of digital signature signing standards.
The Cloud Signature Consortium, which was founded by Adobe in 2016, is a group of industry and academic organizations committed to building a new standard for cloud-based digital signatures that will support web and mobile applications and comply with the most demanding electronic signature regulations in the world.
The Consortium seeks to provide a common technical specification that will make solutions interoperable and suitable for uniform adoption in the global market.
The Cloud Signature Consortium’s mission was initially defined by the need for cloud-based digital signing solutions that meet the highest-level requirements of the European Union’s Regulation on Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS). Its impact, however, is truly global in scope as technical and security requirements for digital signatures continue to become more rigorous worldwide.
Public Key Infrastructures (PKI) -based digital signatures provide assurance of authenticity, integrity, and legal non-repudiation that are not offered by simple electronic signatures such as an image of an ink signature affixed to an electronic document.
A valid digital signature provides assurance of the identity of the signatory, and that an electronic document has not been altered since it was signed. For this reason, digital signatures are afforded higher legal recognition than simple electronic signatures by the eIDAS and many other national regulations.
“LAWtrust is proud to be a member and to promote the Cloud Signature Consortium as we are convinced that a common technical specification will make secure signing solutions are interoperable and suitable for uniform adoption in the global market enabling digital business transformation,” explains Michael Horn, Chief Technology Officer of LAWtrust.
LAWtrust is being acquired by JSE-listed Altron from Etion for R245 million subject to Competition Commission approval.
LAWtrust currently provides services to over 500 customers in the private and public sectors and is considered one of the leading cyber and information security companies in South Africa.
“Security is one of our key growth areas, in addition to Cloud, Data and Automation. What differentiates Lawtrust is the level of intellectual property they own and an annuity base of 70%. These are key characteristics of the Altron 2.0 strategy,” said Mteto Nyati.
