Signing documents can be a hassle, especially if it involves physical meetings. However, with their growing popularity, electronic signatures offer a convenient alternative.
Many businesses now readily accept them, as this technology allows many entities to seal business deals while saving time. However, it’s crucial to be aware of the potential risks. In general, electronic signatures are safe but still have certain vulnerabilities. Let’s discuss the risks of using electronic signatures and some essential safety tips that you should consider.
Risks of Using Electronic Signatures & Safety
Electronic signatures, or e-signatures, have various layers of protection. Some may reveal when and even where a document is opened, viewed, and signed if the provider allows access to its geolocation.
This trail audit is sometimes used in e-signature disputes to prove the authenticity of the signing. Encryption technology identifies information such as the signer’s IP address, certificates of completion, or tamper-evident seals, providing safety and proving authenticity. However, electronic signatures can still be tampered with or forged.
Here are some risks associated with using electronic signatures:
Account Hacking
Every electronic signature possessor will have an account for signing documents. As accounts have passwords, cybercriminals can hack them. Depending on the bad actors’ intentions, this can lead to fraud and legal issues.
Criminals can use your e-signature to steal identity or forge documents. It’s easy to become an online target, as independent contractors or businesses expose a lot of crucial information on the web. You can become a victim if you do not have adequate cybersecurity, strong passwords, or MFA (multi-factor authentication) or are not well informed.
IP Address Exposure
When you use an electronic signature platform or sign a certificate of completion, the signed documents may reveal your IP address. This revelation might be an identifying feature, and it can harm you. Your IP address contains sensitive information like your actual location. If this information falls into the wrong hands, it will compromise your privacy and pose other security risks. To avoid that, you may use a VPN to change your IP address.
Lack of Physical Control
Electronic signatures aren’t necessarily as safe as handwritten signatures. It does not provide the same level of physical control. Physical signatures have the advantage of having witnesses in signature disputes. The number of people with access to your physical signature is limited to only one – you. Electronic signatures, on the other hand, may be accessible to more people, and that can make you vulnerable to bad actors.
Measures to Prevent Electronic Signature Risks
Despite all the safety measures in force, digital signature frauds are on the rise. Bad cybersecurity practices of e-signature users may be the cause of it. Those who want to decrease the risk of fraud, forgery, and hacking can use the following safety tips when using electronic signatures.
Strong Credentials
Our digital identity is mainly tied to what we do online, often protected by accounts and passwords. However, with so many online accounts, including those for electronic signature, users are often tempted to use the same credentials on multiple platforms.
Moreover, people often use weak passwords to make it easier to remember them. Yet, this is a very risky behavior. If a hacker breaches one account, several others may follow. Because of this, using strong and unique passwords for every platform can enhance online security. To remember all those passwords, you can use a password manager. Another security tip is to use multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of protection to your accounts.
Caution Surrounding Shared Devices
Signing a contract online can sometimes be urgent. Such urgency facilitates the need to use any available device to complete the procedure. However, you should avoid shared or public devices, especially for sensitive information like e-signatures. You never know whose device is compromised, and your login credentials might be exposed. Public devices are notoriously unsafe.
Public Wi-Fi connections are also unsafe even if you use your own device, especially when traveling. So, you should also avoid using public Wi-Fi connections on your devices. However, additional cybersecurity protection, like a virtual private network (VPN), may help.
Using a VPN
One of the best ways to protect your electronic signatures and devices from being compromised is to use a VPN. A VPN can mask your online activity by encrypting your data and hiding your IP. This way, you can protect your private information and remain anonymous online. A VPN will act like a guardian on your devices when you travel or work from home, even if you use public Wi-Fi.
Since some locations might have slow or troublesome connections, you should always ensure your VPN works. How to do it? Look up “What is my IP” to find out your IP address, and when you activate your VPN, see if your location has changed. If it does, then your VPN is active, and you are protected.
Monitoring Account Activity
Another electronic signature safety tip is to check your activity periodically. You may have been compromised if you see suspicious activity or unauthorized use of your electronic signature. It may be wise to inform official authorities about a possible identity theft.
