Electronic signature

In recent years, the terms electronic signature and digital signature have come into widespread, and somewhat confused, use. Electronic signature is often used to mean either a signature imputed to a text via one or more of several electronic means, or cryptographic means to add non-repudiation and message integrity features to a document. Digital signature usually refers specifically to a cryptographic signature, either on a document, or on a lower-level data structure.

Related Topics:
Digital signature - Cryptographic

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The confusion in terminology is unsatisfactory in many respects, and will remain so until usage, especially in statutes and regulations, becomes more standardized.

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