Certum released the billionth electronic time stamp

A qualified electronic time stamp is one of the trust services described in the eIDAS Regulation. It is mainly used for e-signature and e-seal. The stamp is based on a precise external time source, linking the date and time to the data so as to exclude the possibility of undetectable data change. Asseco Data Systems has been issuing time stamps since 2003. Over the last 17 years, more than a billion of them have been issued.

Solutions that increase the security of electronic documents are important, especially in the situation of the increasing popularity of the “home office” mode of work. A qualified electronic time stamp is used where the date of preparation of a document plays a key role in its verification and authentication. It is a kind of “label” attached to a digital version of a document. It is particularly applicable to agreements and settlements.

The time a document is marked with does not result from the system time generated by the workstation or server, but comes from an independent source, the so-called Trusted Third Party.

“The use of advanced cryptographic techniques ensures that time-stamped documents are protected against falsification and antedating. Time stamps issued by Asseco are secured by e.g. e-invoices, documents prepared for public administration bodies, banking, and insurance agreements. It enables the date of creation or signing of a document to be determined at any time with 100% certainty, which ensures full reliability for all companies, institutions, offices and individual clients.” – said Ewelina Chudy, Head of the Product Management Team in the Asseco Data Systems Security and Trust Services Division.

A qualified time stamp is a service that complies with the eIDAS Regulation, valid throughout the European Union. This means that its application has legal effect from the date of the document creation or signature. This allows for determining that the document or signature existed at a particular moment. The consequence is the legal effect of the “certified date” as defined in the Civil Code.