Leading Certificate Authority, GlobalSign, Secures Qualified Trust Service Provider Recognition in Europe
GlobalSign to begin selling eIDAS qualified certificates for electronic signatures and seals in December 2018
BRUSSELS and BOSTON, Mass., October 17, 2018 – GMO GlobalSign (www.globalsign.com), a global Certificate Authority (CA) and the leading provider of identity and security solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE), today announced it is now a recognized Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) under European law (eIDAS). By doing so, GlobalSign becomes one of the first global CA’s to issue qualified digital certificates to users and organizations for the purpose of applying Qualified Electronics Signatures and Seals to documents, including regulated industries, across the European Union (EU). The new qualified certificates for electronic signatures and seals will be available in December 2018. GlobalSign’s recognition was approved by the Belgian Supervisory Body (FPS Economy) on October 11. GlobalSign also worked closely with EY, its WebTrust auditor and eIDAS conformity assessment body, throughout the accreditation process.
The QTSP plays an important role in the process of qualified electronic signing – the highest assurance level of signatures as specified by the Electronic Identification and Authentication Services (eIDAS) Act. eIDAS is an EU regulation focused on enhancing trust in electronic transactions between citizens, businesses and public authorities cross-borders. A major component of the regulation was the creation of a common framework for secure electronic signatures, including standardized assurance levels, to facilitate interoperability and acceptance across EU and EEA Member States. Under the law, only QTSPs can provide qualified trust services and appear on their country of operation’s Trust List. If an entity is not on this list, they cannot provide qualified trust services.
As a recognized QTSP, GlobalSign is now able to provide qualified certificates for electronic signatures and seals. Qualified electronic signatures and seals have the same legal effect as handwritten signatures and presume the integrity and origin of the document. These qualified certificates must be recognized and accepted across all member states of the EU. Qualified certificates for electronic signatures and seals are available to individuals and organizations through GlobalSign’s token-based deployment. In line with eIDAS requirements, each signing identity, whether individual or corporate body, is verified and issued a qualified certificate stored on a qualified signature creation device (the token).
GlobalSign’s standard line of digital signature certificates and solutions meets the requirements for advanced electronic signatures and seals because they are:
- Uniquely linked to the signatory;
- Capable of identifying the signatory;
- Created using electronic signature creation data that the signatory can, with a high level of confidence, use under his sole control; and
- Linked to the data signed there with in such a way that any subsequent change in the data is detectable.
Trust service providers such as GlobalSign must be given qualified status and permission from a supervisory government body such as the Belgian Government Federal Public Service Economy (FPS Economy) to provide qualified digital certificates, which can be used to create qualified electronic signatures and seals in adherence to strict guidelines. eIDAS requires that each EU member state maintains a Trust List of the providers and services that have received qualified status in their country.
“Increasingly, the EU and member states will adopt legislation to support the different qualified trust services as defined by eIDAS. In France for example, by the end of 2018, all public tenders and contracts are required to be signed using qualified electronic signatures. Given the current adoption pace and anticipated legislative updates we expect that (qualified) digital signatures will overtake ‘wet signatures’ as the main means of signing by 2020,” said Arvid Vermote, CISO, GlobalSign. “With this in mind GlobalSign made it a priority to become a recognized QTSP, and thus, being capable of providing higher levels of assurance as a CA. Enterprises in the EU who are looking for qualified certificates can now rely on GlobalSign for this capability.”
Vermote added, “The level of assurance QTSP recognition offers is critical, especially for companies in regulated industries such as banking, insurance and energy marketplaces, so being recognized as QTSP within the EU will open up even more doors for us.”
More information about GlobalSign’s QTSP offerings will be available on our website in December. Please visit then for additional details.
About GMO GlobalSign
GlobalSign is the leading provider of trusted identity and security solutions enabling businesses, large enterprises, cloud-based service providers and IoT innovators around the world to conduct secure online communications, manage millions of verified digital identities and automate authentication and encryption. Its high-scale PKI and identity solutions support the billions of services, devices, people and things comprising the Internet of Things (IoT). The company has offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit https://www.globalsign.com
About GMO Cloud KK
GMO Cloud K.K. (TSE: 3788) is a full-service IT infrastructure provider focused on cloud solutions. Established as a hosting company in 1996, the company has managed servers for more than 130,000 businesses and now has 6,500 sales partners throughout Japan. In February of 2011, the company launched GMO Cloud to enhance its focus on cloud-based solutions. Since 2007, the company has also grown its GlobalSign SSL security brand through offices in Belgium, U.K., U.S., China and Singapore. For more information, visit http://ir.gmocloud.com/english/.
About GMO Internet Group
GMO Internet Group is an Internet services industry leader, developing and operating Japan’s most widely used domain, hosting & cloud, ecommerce, security, and payment solutions. The Group also comprises the world’s largest online FX trading platform, as well as online advertising, Internet media, and mobile entertainment products. GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, visit http://www.gmo.jp/en/.
GlobalSign Media Contact
Amy Krigman
Public Relations Manager
Phone: (603) 570-7091
Email: amy.krigman@globalsign.com