By Shamsh Hadi, CEO & Co-Founder of ZorroSign, Inc.
As CEO of ZorroSign, Inc. I am committed to advancing technology while advancing sustainability. With regard to technology, I am always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve—especially in cybersecurity.
But lately, there’s an emerging technology that keeps me up at night: Quantum computing.
While quantum computing promises potential breakthroughs in AI, chemistry and medicine, physics and materials science, it also presents a significant threat to cybersecurity.
Think of it like this: The locks guarding our digital data are built on complex mathematical problems (cryptography). Today’s computers struggle to crack these problems, taking years with longer encryption keys, keeping our information safe. But quantum computers, capable of massively parallel processing, could potentially shatter these locks and access encrypted data with ease.
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break the public-private key encryption that secures digital communications, data, and transactions today, explains ScienceNews. “’All of those public-key algorithms are vulnerable to an attack that can only be carried out by a quantum computer,’ says mathematician Angela Robinson of NIST, ‘Our whole digital world is relying on quantum-vulnerable algorithms.’”
PQC is the next generation of encryption—designed to withstand the challenges of quantum computing by providing greater cybersecurity resilience. While the market is still evolving, PQC initiatives are rolling out and it is crucial to start assessing PQC solutions to future-proof your data security:
Protecting sensitive information — from financial records to customer data, a data breach can be catastrophic but strong PQC safeguards your most valuable digital data assets.
Maintaining customer trust — consumers expect their data to be safe, and implementing PQC demonstrates your commitment to robust, future-proof data security.
Staying competitive — businesses that embrace PQC early will be recognized as leaders in cybersecurity, gaining a potential edge in competitive markets.
The future of quantum computing is uncertain, but one thing is clear: Business leaders cannot afford to be unprepared.
By proactively adopting PQC, you can ensure your business data and your customer data remains secure—no matter what the future holds. I invite you to start exploring PQC solutions today and safeguard your business for the quantum tomorrow. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or email me to start a conversation . . .
At the end of November, we launched our ground-breaking next generation Android mobile application: Upgrading the ZorroSign user experience and user interface with new features, security, compliance and system updates.
At ZorroSign, our goal is to ensure our apps and platform deliver the most intuitive and user-friendly digital signature experience available!
Governments, businesses, organizations, and individuals around the world trust ZorroSign to safeguard their digital documents and to provide an immutable chain of custody for their digital transactions. ZorroSign integrates multiple blockchains (Hyperledger Fabric and Provenance Blockchain), digital signatures, automated compliance, intelligent forms, document storage, patented fraud prevention, user authentication and document verification, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), and so much more.
When the risk is personal and everything is on the line, Block It Down!
ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain includes:
Z-Sign® for legally binding digital signatures
Z-Forensics® token for patented fraud detection
Z-Flow® automation engine for building digital signature and approval workflows
Z-Fill® leveraging artificial intelligence/machine learning to speed form fill
Z-Verify® to ensure every document’s authenticity and immutability
Z-Vault® for blockchain-based document management
“We are thrilled to add this entirely new and leading-edge Android app to our technology stack,” said Shamsh Hadi, CEO and co-founder of ZorroSign. “Our development team is proud to deliver the best user experience in digital signatures, and our blockchain-based architecture elevates data privacy and security, while ensuring immutable records and legally enforceable digital signatures.”
With this exciting new Android app, you can Z-Sign documents:
Create genuine handwritten and computer-generated signatures
Z-Sign documents with a click of a button—any time, any place
Use Z-Fill to auto-complete fields while signing documents
Approve or reject documents
Share completed documents with others
Integrated with popular cloud drives
Add post-it notes to your documents
Upload attachments and supporting documents
Immutably store document and transaction details on blockchain
You can request signatures on documents:
Use templates or send one-time documents to Z-Sign
Upload multiple documents to Z-Sign
Supports multiple file formats
Prompts guide signers through precisely where to sign, initial, date, etc.
Define workflow through Z-Flow with signing order for multiple signers
Receive real-time push notifications
Track progress, identify bottlenecks in the workflow, and send reminders in your Z-Vault
Void/Cancel, expire, recall documents already out for digital signature
All with superior privacy, security and legality:
Digital signatures are legally binding and upheld in global courts of law
Meets International compliance and multiple accreditations
Use either private, permissioned Hyperledger Fabric or public, permissionless Provenance Blockchain
Complete chain of custody and audit trail with patented Z-Forensics technology
Validate and authenticate both digital and paper versions of Z-Sign documents
Detect any tampering, revisions, replaced or rejected documents
Use proprietary security certificates that never expire
A recent Crowdstrike blog argues how “like so many legacy technologies, legacy data loss prevention (DLP) tools fail to deliver the protection today’s organizations need.”
Crowdstrike notes that with rising attacks, new attack vectors, and higher cost data breaches, organizations are desperate for a modern alternative to traditional cybersecurity solutions, where (as the blog summarizes):
Unstructured data on endpoints is at great risk of misuse or breach
More than a third of data loss prevention deployments fail
Your data is too complex for legacy data loss prevention tools
Legacy data loss prevention tools lack visibility into real-world data flows, and so lack context to stop breaches
While I agree with all of Crowdstrike’s arguments, I believe blockchain technology improves cybersecurity and propose that storing your data on blockchain is a necessary leap forward in security versus legacy technologies.
Why is it vital that your organization moves to blockchain-based data storage? Four key reasons:
Immutable Records One of the main benefits of blockchain technology is its ability to provide secure and tamper-proof record keeping, as the use of cryptography and peer-consensus mechanisms ensures that once data is recorded on the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to alter or delete. This immutability and transparency provide important chain-of-custody audit capabilities for courts and ensure peace of mind to users. Such security also makes blockchains ideal for use in financial transactions, real estate agreements and other high-value exchanges, where a record of every step is essential for ensuring the integrity of the process.
Secure Authentication One of the main issues in cybersecurity is the vulnerability of traditional authentication methods such as passwords. Passwords can be easily hacked or stolen, leaving sensitive information vulnerable to attack. This can be a threat to businesses, especially those who store their users’ personal information. Blockchain technology can provide secure authentication through the use of public-private key cryptography, eliminating passwords from the process.
Decentralization Unliked centralized databases which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices)—or even at MSPs hosting them—giving attackers complete control once they gain central access, blockchain technology distributes data across geographically separate nodes.
The decentralized nature of blockchains ensures that there is no single point of failure, which also means that hackers cannot easily compromise the system. By decentralizing data storage, blockchain effectively prevents any one endpoint (even if compromised) from gaining control of the full data set.
This distributed nature defeats those attacks seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypt the data files stored therein. For example, breaching a single endpoint node and attempting to hold data “for ransom” fails, as the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, or shutting down the network.
Further, with private, permissioned blockchains, each endpoint node (or user) has a unique encryption key to access and write to the distributed ledger. If any one of those endpoints is successfully attacked (presumedly compromising their access key), the private blockchain can simply remove distributed ledger access for that compromised key, issue the endpoint a new key, and allow that endpoint to quickly regain distributed ledger access (effectively as a new endpoint).
This unique recovery process effectively maroons any ransomware on the endpoint it attacked—ending its access and threat—while allowing the endpoint to re-engage the larger data set: With a new key and without needing to pay any ransom to the attackers for restored access.
Identity Verification Identity verification is another area where blockchain can be used to enhance cybersecurity. It ensures that the individual claiming a particular identity is actually who they say they are. With blockchain, users can have greater control over their personal information, allowing them to manage their digital identities more securely. This makes it more difficult for hackers to steal personal information or create fake identities.
ZorroSign’s Data Security Platform Built on Blockchain
As the world becomes more digitized and interconnected, the importance of cybersecurity will only continue to grow, and blockchain storage will play a crucial role in ensuring that our digital world remains safe and secure.
ZorroSign was built from the ground up on Hyperledger Fabric to deliver digital signatures with the superior privacy and security of blockchain. We recently announced our advanced integration with Provence Blockchain, adding their DLT to our architecture as well.
Our Z-Vault® enables ZorroSign users to store, structure, organize and search documents in folders and subfolders natively with the peace of mind that comes from blockchain-based data privacy and security—leaving legacy technologies behind for good.
ZorroSign’s platform can be accessed via PCs and mobile devices, allowing your staff to efficiently generate, negotiate, communicate, and sign agreements. And with Z-Vault, contracts reside on an immutable document management system where they can be saved, searched for, and easily managed from a single, intuitive user interface.
Z-Vault Benefits for Your Organization
Superior privacy and security to PKI-based solutions using a centralized database
The latest privacy and security technologies, delivering powerful encryption safeguards
Ability to share and review Z-Sign and architectural drawings, adding your own comments
Save time with access to specific folders and documents in seconds, no loss of records
I believe blockchain-based data storage is critical to improving cybersecurity, and I invite you to learn more about Z-Vault to securely store contracts, data, and documents on blockchain instead of legacy technologies.
Learn more about Z-Vault or connect with me on LinkedIn to start a conversation today!
The introduction of web3 has redefined the ways providers and customers interact in both the digital and physical world across many industries. The healthcare industry is no exception to this, so let’s look at some key ways that web3 technologies are changing the healthcare industry for better patient experiences . . .
Data Ownership
When it comes to healthcare, most people have multiple doctors and facilities that they count on to keep their data secure and store their records. Further, most patients do not have direct access to their healthcare records and have to go through healthcare professionals to obtain their records. This can be both frustrating and time-consuming for the patient.
“With Web 3.0, patients’ data can be stored on the blockchain using smart contracts” says a Med-Tech article, ”Any healthcare professional that needs to work with the patient can easily access the data by obtaining a public key or unique ID, eliminating the need for institutionalized data silos fenced off from the patient. In addition, this relieves hospital administrations of information overload due to the management of thousands of patient records.”
Web3 paves the way to accessible, efficient, and patient-centered healthcare. It introduces blockchain technology, which allows patients to have more ownership and control over their health data. Patients can also seamlessly share data with healthcare providers, reducing redundant tests and streamlining care. It enables the healthcare system to be patient-centric while also decentralizing data by transferring ownership to individuals.
Data Security
“95% of identity theft comes from stolen healthcare records,” according to an article by techjury. This statistic is shocking to hear considering an individual is more likely than not to have given their personal information at some point and time to a medical facility. It calls attention to the need to move away from the centralized storage system that most healthcare industry vastly relies on and move towards decentralization.
Blockchain is at the core of web3 and this enables healthcare professionals to store patient securely with immutable digital ledger technology. The healthcare data records are distributed over nodes, so an attacker would need access to each node in the network to hack, alter or delete the data, which is nearly impossible. Moreover, accessing the data needs the patients’ permission. Due to blockchain’s peer-to-peer consensus for changes, tampering with the data is also nearly impossible. This allows healthcare providers to store sensitive information securely with less fear of data breaches.
Blockchain’s immutable ledger also ensures the authenticity and integrity of medical records. Patients can trust that their health data has not been tampered with. This transparency fosters trust between patients and healthcare providers, enhancing peace of mind.
Telemedicine and Web3
Telehealth has been on the rise since 2020. According to Telehealth.gov, “Telemedicine, or telehealth, essentially lets your health care provider care for you without an in-person office visit. Telehealth is done primarily online with internet access on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.” Since the COVID19 pandemic, telehealth has jumped in both the volume of technology solutions and applications across medical fields.
Web3 technologies enable decentralized and secure data networks. Patients have more control over their data and therefore are more confident to share it online with medical professionals. With such convenience, security, and connectivity, the future of telemedicine looks bright!
ZorroSign is proud to be on the forefront of deploying web3 technologies—such as AI and blockchain—to improve patient experience in the healthcare industry with our data security platform built on blockchain. To learn how ZorroSign can supports healthcare by facilitating and securing the exchange of digital data, visit our Healthcare industry page or contact us today!
Guest blog by Kusal Munasinghe and Kushan Edirisooriya at ZorroSign, Inc.
Web3 has become a trending term in the technology space in recent years, and the excitement surrounding Web3 has led to many attempts of development, investment, and experimentation. In this article we will explore how the recent integration done by ZorroSign with Provenance Blockchain advances key Web3 concepts.
What is Centralization, Decentralization and Distribution?
In an era defined by technological innovation and the ever-expanding reach of the internet, the architecture of systems and networks has undergone a profound transformation. At the heart of this evolution lies the age-old debate surrounding centralization versus decentralization. As organizations and individuals grapple with the complex interplay of these paradigms, it becomes essential to navigate this spectrum effectively. The following paragraphs aim to unravel the intricacies of distributed, centralized, and decentralized systems, offering a comprehensive understanding of their characteristics, advantages, and challenges.
Centralization With centralized computing systems, all the processes, data storage, and validation are managed by a single and axial party. This sole party has all administrative power and access which makes it vulnerable as a single point of failure.
Decentralization Decentralization in computing refers to a design, or architectural approach, where computing resources, control, and decision-making are distributed across multiple nodes or devices rather than being concentrated in a single central authority or location. This approach has gained prominence in various areas of computing due to its potential benefits, which include increased scalability, fault tolerance, security, and user empowerment.
Decentralized network is a network configuration where there are multiple authorities serving as a centralized hub for participants. In the computing world, a decentralized network architecture distributes workloads among several machines instead of relying on a single central server.
Distribution In contrast, a distributed computing system is a network of interconnected computers or nodes that work together to perform tasks and solve problems. Here, there is no sole administrator, as these systems are designed to distribute computational and processing workloads across multiple machines, rather than relying on a single central computer.
In distribution models, every participant can communicate with one another without going through a centralized point. Since there are multiple pathways for communication, the loss of any participant will not prevent communication. Distributed computer systems are used to harness the collective computing power of multiple machines to solve complex problems, improve performance, and enhance reliability. They play a critical role in modern computing, particularly in cloud computing environments and large-scale data processing applications.
What are Peer-to-Peer Networks?
A peer-to-peer (P2P) network is a decentralized computer network where participants, known as peers, communicate and share resources directly with one another without the need for a centralized server or authority.
In a P2P network, every connected device can both request and provide services or resources, creating a distributed and collaborative network architecture. Some of the key characteristics and components of a peer-to-peer network are Decentralization, Symmetry, Resource Sharing, Privacy, and Anonymity.
Where Does Blockchain Fit?
Traditional data and document storage mechanisms are vulnerable to data manipulation and attacks because of centralization, limited transparency, and reliance on traditional security measures.
Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized digital ledger technology used to record transactions across multiple computers or nodes. It was originally created as the underlying technology for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but its applications have since expanded far beyond digital currencies.
Blockchain technology has the potential to significantly impact democracy by enhancing transparency, accountability, and trust in democratic processes. Through its immutable and decentralized nature, blockchain can ensure that data and transactions are securely recorded and tamper-proof, addressing concerns of election fraud and manipulation. Data is more trustworthy in blockchain compared to traditional databases and other storages. Blockchain written data is immutable, hard to tamper and trusted.
Blockchain and Web3
Before we dive into Web3, a quick history review to understand what technologies preceded Web3.
Web1 was dedicated to users searching for data. This web version is sometimes called “the read-only Web”, for example reading a newspaper from the web. Web1 was made up of a small number of people generating content for a larger audience and was the first step of the big journey.
Today’s Web2 has many people creating even more content for a growing audience. Web1 focused on reading, but Web2 focused on participating and contributing such as content publishing in social media. The big tech companies of 2023 are Web2 leaders.
Finally to Web3. Web3 is an approach poised to redefine the way we interact with digital technologies and the internet itself. Unlike its predecessors—which primarily focused on delivering information and facilitating user interactions through centralized platforms—Web3 introduces a decentralized, trustless, and user-centric model that empowers individuals to take control of their online experiences and data.
Key areas in Web3 are blockchain technology, decentralized networks, and cryptographic principles to create a more open, transparent, and secure digital ecosystem. It enables peer-to-peer interactions, facilitates autonomous smart contracts, and ensures data ownership and privacy, all without the need for intermediaries or centralized authorities.
Blockchain uses consensus mechanisms to verify and validate new blocks to the network. Therefore, only genuine and verified transactions are stored inside the block. Provenance Blockchain, for example, uses proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms and that will ensure the trust and security of blockchain.
(Proof-of-stake or PoS was created as an alternative to proof-of-work or PoW, the original consensus mechanism used to validate transactions and mine new blocks on Bitcoin. PoW requires “miners”—individual computers—to solve cryptographic puzzles, while PoS requires “validators” to own and stake tokens for the privilege of earning transaction fees. Such validators verify transactions, vote on outcomes, and maintain records to ensure non-repudiation.)
Non-repudiation is a feature that comes with blockchain that refers to the assurance that a party in a communication or transaction cannot deny the authenticity or integrity of a message, action, or agreement that they have previously taken. In essence, it ensures that once a party has sent a message, performed an action, or agreed to a contract, they cannot later claim that they did not do so.
The goal of Web3 is to allow users to regain sovereignty over their data, participate in decentralized governance, and explore innovative ways to collaborate, transact, and communicate on the internet. As Web3 continues to evolve and mature, it has the potential to reshape industries and empower individuals.
In short, Web3 is the decentralized version of the internet and blockchain technologies are key to enabling technology for Web3.
The Advance of ZorroSign’s Integration with Provenance Blockchain
Provenance Blockchain is a groundbreaking technology that has revolutionized the way we track and verify the origins and ownership of assets in various industries. Provenance Blockchain is specifically designed to provide a transparent and immutable record of the history of physical and digital assets, including products, documents, and more.
Purpose-built for the financial services and insurance industry, Provenance Blockchain is routinely the blockchain of choice for tokenization with over $8 billion in real-world financial asset total value locked (TVL). The platform has played a key role in several financial services firsts, including the first blockchain-native consumer loans, first asset-backed securitization on blockchain, and the first bank-minted tokenized deposits in the United States. Provenance Blockchain is leveraged by more than 70 leading financial institutions including Apollo Global Management, Hamilton Lane, Guaranteed Rate, and innovative fintechs.
The primary objective of integrating ZorroSign with Provenance blockchain is to enhance the transparency, and authenticity of document transactions. Immutable document Integrity is achieved as Provenance Blockchain record document hash of the final document and produce a unique transaction hash. This ensures that the document is tamper-proof as Provenance’s transaction hash can be publicly viewed and verified for its authenticity.
The goal of integrating ZorroSign with Provenance Blockchain is to create a more secure, transparent, and efficient environment for handling and storing documents while ensuring superior data integrity and authenticity. Compared to other document signing platforms which rely on traditional storages, ZorroSign offers clear advantages when it comes to trust & security because of its innovative use of Blockchain technology.
What Does This Integration Mean for Web3?
By offering a tamper-proof and decentralized ledger, Provenance Blockchain enhances trust, reduces fraud, and improves accountability, opening doors for a new level of transparency and integrity in asset management and ownership verification. Being a public blockchain, Provenance Blockchain provides the extra advantage of having the transaction link where verification is possible without relying on a user account or login into a system. This is a key value proposition of Web3.
Where Do We Go from Here?
With today’s integration, ZorroSign has embarked on a journey that could bring out best in both ZorroSign and Provenance Blockchain for our users. Two specific goals moving forward:
The ZorroSign development team is assessing the replacement of the global B2B wallet used for Provenance Blockchain transactions with individual user’s specific wallets. This would be a revolutionary step as it will achieve true data democracy: Making sure that each user who signs the document will have his/her ownership of the transaction, and therefore the ownership of the document. This level of integration will not be as easy, as it must resolve many technical and business flow challenges as a significant split from the familiar Web2 model. Research for this Web3 wallet individualization is already under way.
The ZorroSign development team aspires to also run the entire document-signing flow based on data contracts in Provenance Blockchain, and so even store the documents themselves in blockchain nodes. Such storage would deliver the highest security, integrity, authenticity for documents and give the full ownership of the document to the signed wallet owner.
Both of these future developments are in progress. ZorroSign’s dreams for Provenance Blockchain may shape the very future of Web3 and we are thrilled to share each step of the way!
ZorroSign Announces Growth Partnership with Vision Tech Solutions
Strategic Reseller Partnership Brings ZorroSign’s Data Security Platform to New Markets
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, September 26, 2023 /EIN Presswire / — ZorroSign, Inc., a global leader in data security solutions built on blockchain, today announced a strategic partnership with Vision Tech Solutions in the United Arab Emirates. This partnership will unite ZorroSign’s data security platform and blockchain technologies with Vision Tech Solution’s IT infrastructure and services across the Gulf region. Initially as a reseller, Vision Tech Solutions will bring ZorroSign to new companies and new markets as the partnership deepens with integrated capabilities and technology alignment.
“We are thrilled to partner with Rajab and his team at Vision Tech,” said Shamsh Hadi, CEO and co-founder of ZorroSign. “Their customer service focus and top quality IT services map well to ZorroSign’s values and data security strengths. We are eager to see what our combined technology solutions can achieve for companies in the UAE, the larger Middle East and North Africa region, and later into Europe.”
ZorroSign was founded with a commitment to advancing technology while advancing sustainability, and ZorroSign’s goal is to help customers adopt sustainable practices and securely transform paper-based workflows into digital workflows. This conscientious approach to operations helps to decrease costs, lower resource consumption, reduce data errors, and increase productivity. Businesses, educational institutions, financial organisations, governments, IT firms, legal service providers, real estate companies, and others use ZorroSign to privately and securely manage their digital transactions.
Vision Tech Solutions’ Rajab Ali Virani and ZorroSign’s Shamsh Hadi signing partnership agreement
“Vision Tech aspires to be a global leader in Information Technology, driving technological advancements and delivering sustainable solutions that improve the lives of people around the world,” added Rajab Virani, CEO at Vision Tech Solutions. “ZorroSign is an ideal technology partner for us—not only bringing a practical, scalable blockchain solution to data security and digital signatures, but doing so with an overarching commitment to sustainability.”
ZorroSign today has an extensive customer base for its data security and digital signature solutions built on blockchain in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, India, Sri Lanka, the United States, and Canada. The technology company is aggressively expanding into European markets next and seeking new strategic alliances across the EU and UK in 2023.
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About Vision Tech Solutions
Vision Tech Solutions DMCC specializes in providing companies with bespoke IT technical services, consultancies, infrastructure, and support. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, Vision Tech Solutions unites a qualified and experienced technical and management team, whose collective experience in the IT industry spans several decades, to deliver the most proper technical applications for transformation to blockchain technologies with emphasis on the economic return. A strong research and development team working on futuristic technologies contribute to the company’s success in providing leading-edge technologies to its clients. To learn more visit visiontechsolutions.com
About ZorroSign
ZorroSign, Inc. uses blockchain for superior data privacy and security. Governments, businesses, organisations and individuals around the world trust ZorroSign to safeguard their digital documents and to provide an immutable chain of custody for their digital transactions. The company’s data security platform integrates multiple blockchains (Hyperledger Fabric and Provenance Blockchain), digital signatures, automated compliance, AI/ML form completion, document storage, patented fraud detection, user authentication and document verification, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), and so much more. When the risk is personal and everything is on the line, Block It Down! To learn more visit zorrosign.com
Passwordless login capabilities provide a secure and convenient way for companies to authenticate users and can play an important role in your security stack by minimizing the human risk-factor.
One of the main benefits of passwordless authentication is that it eliminates the need for users to remember and manage multiple passwords. With users no longer needing to recall their passwords—and also then unable to share their passwords—the risk of password-related security breaches, such as phishing and brute force attacks, plus password reuse is significantly reduced.
Another key benefit of passwordless login is that it provides a more seamless and user-friendly experience. With passwordless login, users can authenticate themselves with a variety of methods such as biometric authentication, one-time passcodes sent via SMS, or a security key. This facilitates user adoption and reduces the risk of users circumventing security measures.
Passwordless login also provides a way to secure remote transactions, as users can authenticate themselves without the need to be physically present at a location. This is particularly useful in today’s digital world where remote work and online transactions are becoming more and more prevalent.
Moreover, passwordless login capabilities can also be integrated with multi-factor authentication (MFA) to provide an additional layer of security. MFA can help to protect against identity theft and other cyber threats by requiring users to provide multiple forms of authentication—critically important for companies that handle sensitive data or operate in regulated industries.
By incorporating passwordless login capabilities into your security stack, you can improve your security posture and reduce costs. Passwordless authentication:
Eliminates the need for users to remember and manage multiple passwords,
Provides a more seamless and user-friendly experience,
Secures remote transactions, and
Can be integrated with multi-factor authentication.
Organizations that adopt passwordless login capabilities better secure your digital assets, improve user adoption, and reduce the risk of security breaches. Read our latest eBook for further details and to learn how ZorroSign delivers blockchain, digital signatures, identity-as-a-service, and passwordless authentication for your security stack!
Digital Transformation in the Healthcare Industry
Over the past decade there is no question that the healthcare industry has experienced profound transformation when it comes to technology. This shift has brought enhanced patient care and streamlined processes.
One prominent advancement in technology for healthcare was the created of electronic health records, or EHRs. Healthit.gov defines an EHR as “a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. EHRs have becomes an instrumental technological advancement through the way they can:
“Contain a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory and test results,
“Allow access to evidence-based tools that providers can use to make decisions about a patient’s care, and
”Automate and streamline provider workflows.”
One of the main reasons EHRs were created was to ensure health information can be created and shared across authorized providers in a digital format readily managed by multiple health care organizations. This allows for a broader network of communication and sharing between medical professionals seeking to diagnose and treat individual patients.
Another remarkable technology advancement has been the rise of telemedicine. According to Telehealth.gov, “Telemedicine, or telehealth, essentially lets your health care provider care for you without an in-person office visit. Telehealth is done primarily online with internet access on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.” Since the pandemic, telehealth has jumped in both the volume of technology solutions and applications across medical fields.
A third example of emerging healthcare technologies can be found in wearables. “With an aging population in much of the developed world, wearables can be effective at prevention of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, by helping patients to monitor and improve their fitness,” notes Proclinical.
Wearable healthcare devices for monitoring and diagnostics are a kind of internet of medical things (IoMT) or healthcare IoT that facilitates remote patient monitoring (RPM) and supports telemedicine. “IoMT enables the use of new technology that facilities patient self-service and minimizes the need for in-person visits,” explains TechTarget. “Consumer-grade wearables give patients access to data that they might traditionally have had to go to a doctor to get.”
The convergence of healthcare and technologies such as these has paved the way for a new era of efficiency, accessibility, and innovation—redefining the way we approach medical services and patient data.
Importance of HIPPA Compliance and Data Security with the Advancement of Technology
With the rise of EHRs, telemedicine, wearables, and other healthcare technologies, there is a growing concern for data security and compliance. This is especially true in the healthcare industry where the data is always personal, and data privacy and security are mandated by law—specifically in the United States with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
The importance of safeguarding patient data in accordance with HIPAA regulations has driven the development of robust security measures, encryption protocols, and strict access controls. To maintain HIPAA compliance, digital technologies have regular security audits and updates to identify vulnerabilities and ensure that the systems adhere to the latest security standards.
On top of HIPPA compliance, platforms that manage data security healthcare may bolster data privacy and security by leveraging:
Blockchain technologies —by providing a secure, transparent, and efficient way to store and share information (such as patient healthcare records, prescriptions, diagnostic data across providers, etc.), blockchains are making it possible to improve patient care, reduce costs, and streamline administrative processes.
Identity as a Service (IDaaS) — offering a comprehensive solution that addresses identity management, authentication, access control, and compliance, contributing to a more secure healthcare system.
Passwordless authentication — by eliminating the vulnerabilities associated with passwords and delivering a seamless user experience, passwordless authentication methods improve data protection, compliance, and overall cybersecurity in healthcare environments.
ZorroSign Delivers HIPAA-compliant Privacy with the Elevated Security of a Web3 Platform
At ZorroSign, our HIPAA-compliant data security platform built in blockchain supports healthcare organizations with digital records, digital signatures, and document workflows.
Our platform ensures superior privacy and security with blockchain, IDaaS, and passwordless authentication, plus:
Legal enforceability — reducing insurance fraud with digital signatures that are legally binding, tied to the actual person (signatory attribution), and immutable with court-admissible security certificates that never expire
Cost-savings — through automating patient, diagnostic, insurance, payment, and recordkeeping workflows and digitizing paper applications, forms, and records
Improved patient services — digitizing your office operations to quickly execute, store, track, and retrieve:
Claims management, payments, and prior authorization
Facilities management
Human resources processes
Logistics and procurement
Patient sign-in and consent
Power of Attorney and Proxy Agreements
Prescription approval routing
ZorroSign is just one of the new technologies driving improvements in healthcare and expanding the patient services that healthcare providers can deliver.
To learn how ZorroSign can support your healthcare organization’s data privacy and security, visit our Healthcare industry page or contact us today!
ZorroSign updated our user experience last year, making it even easier for you to Z-Sign agreements, execute transactions, and manage digital documents on blockchain.
To showcase our new user experience, we’re producing video “shorts” to show actual ZorroSign users signing agreements, building approval workflows, and managing digital documents anywhere, any time. For example:
Further, we have great testimonials on our YouTube channel here.
And you can view our growing library of How-To videos showcasing basic ZorroSign functionality, including Z-Sign, here.
Sign up for a 14-day Free Trial (no credit card required) to put us to the test, or contact us if you’d like to see any other videos on ZorroSign, Z-Sign, or our other key features.
When security is mission-critical, Block It Down!
It has long been claimed that blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the way companies approach security. By leveraging the decentralized and immutable nature of blockchain, companies can enhance your security stack and protect against a wide range of threats.
One of the main benefits of blockchain technology is its ability to provide secure and tamper-proof record keeping. The decentralized nature of blockchains ensures that there is no single point of failure—which also means that hackers cannot easily compromise the system. Additionally, the use of cryptography and consensus mechanisms ensures that once data is recorded on the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to alter or delete.
Another security benefit of blockchain technology is its ability to provide secure and transparent transactions. By using smart contracts, companies can automate and streamline processes, while also ensuring that all transactions are recorded in a transparent and immutable manner. This can help to reduce the risk of fraud and increase trust between parties.
Blockchain technology can also be used to improve supply chain management. By using blockchain, your organization can track products and goods as they move through supply chains—providing real-time visibility into the status and location of products. This can help to improve efficiency, reduce costs, reduce fraud, and increase transparency.
Moreover, blockchain technologies such as Hyperledger Fabric (private, permissioned) and Provenance Blockchain (public, permissionless) can be used to enhance cybersecurity by providing encrypted and immutable identity management. Blockchain-based identity and access management (IAM) systems provide secure and decentralized storage of identity data, making it more difficult for hackers to steal or compromise sensitive information.
By incorporating blockchain technology into your security stack, companies can enhance your security posture and protect against a wide range of threats. Blockchains provide:
Secure and tamper-proof record keeping,
Secure and transparent transactions,
Improved supply chain management, and
Enhanced identity management.
Together, these make blockchain technology an attractive option for companies looking to improve your security. And organizations that leverage blockchain technology to improve your security will be strongly-positioned to succeed in the years ahead!
To read more about the growing risks to digital data in 2023—and learn how adding blockchain technologies to your security stack can combat those risks—download our eBook today or contact us to start a discussion!
Blockchain has emerged as a transformational technology in various industries over the last few years. When it comes to legal services, blockchain technologies can support the privacy, security and document management requirements vital to law firms, legal departments, and attorneys.
Here are some ways blockchains can revolutionize legal services and offer a multitude of benefits to enhance efficiency, security and trust in legal operations worldwide.
Smart Contracts
Blockchain technology incorporating smart contracts, for example, can automate the process of creating, executing and managing contracts. Smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms and conditions directly written into code, can be stored and executed on the blockchain. This hard-coded contract management eliminates the need for intermediaries, reduces the risk of fraud, and ensures transparency.
Smart contracts also have the potential to revolutionize dispute resolution within the legal system. In the event of a disputed agreement or terms, the transparency and auditability of smart contracts enable quick and efficient resolution. Parties involved can rely on the immutable records stored on the blockchain to validate the final state of the contract and ensure fair outcomes.
“The advent of blockchain technology and smart contracts presents a unique opportunity for the legal industry to evolve and adapt to the demands of the digital age,” notes a recent CityLife article. Legal professionals can thus benefit from using blockchain technology that enables the creation, storage, and execution of smart contracts, ensuring secure and tamper-proof agreements, while advancing their client services.
Immutable Document Management
Legal services heavily rely on accurate and trustworthy evidence. Blockchain’s immutability and transparency make it the ideal solution for managing legal documents and data in digital formats. By providing a tamper-proof record of all contract-related activities, blockchain technology can help to ensure that all parties are held accountable for their actions and to their commitments. This can be especially important in cases of complex, multi-party contracts, where it can be difficult to track and manage all of the different activities and obligations.
Blockchain “technology generates a systematic, untampered audit trail of the history of any action taking place in a document, which can be viewed in a history tree, providing a more superior history and audit trail than anything else that currently exists,” explains Accenture. “The digitization of paper-based contracts onto the blockchain holds the potential to revolutionize the way contracts are prepared, transacted, amended, stored and complied with.”
The legal industry rests on maintaining accurate and trustworthy records and evidence. Blockchain’s immutability and transparency make it an ideal technology for document management and evidence preservation for law firms, legal departments, and attorneys.
Digital Identity Verification
In one more example, identity verification is a fundamental aspect of work done in legal services, whether it involves client onboarding, compliance, notarization, or other agreements between strangers. Blockchain technology can streamline these processes by enabling decentralized and secure digital identity verification through blockchain-based identity solutions.
“Blockchain-based identity has the potential to offer increased security, privacy, and efficiency in various industries, including banking, supply chain management, and voting,” notes Jay Speakman in a new Be In Crypto article. “By creating a decentralized and tamper-proof identity application, blockchain can reduce the risk of identity theft and fraud while providing users with more control over their personal data.”
With such technologies, individuals control their personal information via blockchain, granting access to specific details only when they choose to share. This not only enhances privacy and creates a relationship of trust, but as mentioned above, can greatly reduce identity theft and fraud.
ZorroSign For Legal Services
ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain technology is just what your legal team needs to take the privacy and security of your law firm to the next level. To learn more about how ZorroSign supports attorneys, and how blockchains elevate legal services, visit our Legal industry page or contact ZorroSign today!
The ever-growing amount of digital data and the increasing complexity of cyber threats have made data security more important than ever before. In 2023, companies must take steps to elevate your data security to protect both your own information and that of your customers.
One of the main risks to digital data today is the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks. Hackers are using more advanced techniques to bypass traditional security measures—such as using machine learning to evade detection and launching targeted phishing and spear-phishing attacks against specific organizations. Companies must be prepared to defend against these types of attacks by implementing advanced security measures, such as artificial intelligence-based security solutions, and regularly updating and patching your systems.
Another risk to digital data in 2023 is the growing number of connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). As more devices are connected to the internet, the attack surface for hackers becomes larger, making it easier for them to gain access to sensitive information. Companies must take steps to secure your IoT devices and to ensure that those devices are not used as a means to gain access to other systems.
Further, the use of cloud services and the increasing amount of data that is stored in the cloud has also increased the risk of data breaches. Companies must ensure that your cloud services are properly configured and that you are using a reputable provider with a strong track record of security. Companies also need to implement strong access controls and encryption to protect data stored in the cloud.
Protecting data against the growing risks in 2023 requires a multi-layered approach that includes regular updates and patching, securing IoT devices, properly configuring cloud services, adopting advanced security measures such as:
Blockchain technologies for tamper-proof record keeping with no single point of failure
Digital signature technologies to authenticate and authorize remote transactions
Identity-as-a-Service solutions for scalable identity and access management (IAM)
Passwordless authentication to reduce the human risk in security systems
Organizations that fail to take these steps will be at a higher risk of data breaches and will be more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
It is important to remember that data security is not only important to protect your company’s information but also to protect the personal data of your customers and employees.
To read more about the growing risks to digital data in 2023—and learn how adding blockchain, digital signature, IDaaS, and passwordless authentication technologies to your security stack can combat those risks—download our eBook today or contact us to start a discussion!
Though still an emerging technology in the healthcare industry, blockchains have the potential to transform the U.S. (and global) healthcare industry.
By providing a secure, transparent, and efficient way to store and share information (such as patient healthcare records, prescriptions, diagnostic data across providers, etc.), blockchains are making it possible to improve patient care, reduce costs, and streamline administrative processes. Let’s look at how the healthcare industry is already using blockchain technologies . . .
Blockchain Applications Today
Electronic health record (EHR) management — blockchains can be used to securely store and share patient health and medical records—where electronic medical records, or EMRs, are “a patient’s medical history that is maintained electronically by a single provider,” explains Forbes, while EHRs represent a “patient’s medical history that is maintained electronically by multiple providers.” This application of blockchains can improve patient care by making it easier for doctors and other healthcare providers to access the information they need to make informed decisions. And blockchain technologies can also help to reduce costs by eliminating the need for duplicate records.
Clinical trials — here, blockchains can be used to manage clinical trials more efficiently, as by storing clinical data on a blockchain, researchers can track patient progress and outcomes in real time. This can help to improve the efficiency of trials and speed up the development of new treatments. “Blockchain may offer a solution to more easily aggregate health data in a secure, trusted, automated, and error-free way,” notes Deloitte. “A solution which enforces rules, privacy, and regulations in a mutually agreed upon manner, resulting in a smart contract between patient and health care stakeholders can be an important enabler to clinical trials and research.”
Supply chain management — blockchains can be used to better track the movement of medical supplies and medications with the technologies immutable and transparent recordkeeping. This can help to ensure the safety and quality of these products, and it can also reduce fraud. “Currently, most medical and pharmaceutical supply chains are facing significant logistical challenges, including a lack of real-time visibility into shipment locations, uncertainty transportation disruptions, product quality tracking and verification, cross-border customs reporting across borders, and complicated invoicing and payments,” write Jayendra S. Jadhav and Jyoti Deshmukh in a ScienceDirect article. “A blockchain-based supply chain, on the other hand, could track every step for every item immutably, transparently, and efficiently.”
Payment processing — blockchains can be used to process payments for healthcare services (patient and insurers), helping to reduce costs and improve efficiency. For example, “Insurers can now work with digital transformation platforms to design and develop blockchain technologies to target specific needs instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach,” says Julien Breteau in recent The Digital Insurer article.
Healthcare research — blockchain data storage and sharing can be readily used to manage the data from healthcare research studies. This use helps to accelerate the pace of research and improve the development of new treatments. “The growing digitization of medical care has advanced the acknowledgment of issues about secure storage, accessing of patients’ medical records, ownership, and medical data from associated sources,” explains a recent National Library of Medicine article. “Blockchain is recommended as a method of addressing critical issues faced by healthcare, for instance, protected sharing of health records and adherence to data privacy laws.”
Universal Blockchain Benefits
As blockchain technologies are tailored to healthcare, the universal benefits of this distributed ledger architecture include stronger security (as data is encrypted and distributed across multiple nodes), greater transparency (as transactions recorded on public blockchains where any node can view them), greater efficiency (automating manual data entry and record keeping processes), and more opportunities for interoperability (as blockchains can connect different healthcare systems and organizations).
ZorroSign for Healthcare
And at ZorroSign, our secure, HIPAA-compliant data security platform built in blockchain supports healthcare organizations with digital records, digital signatures, and document workflows. Our platform ensures:
Legal enforceability — reducing insurance fraud with digital signatures that are legally binding, tied to the actual person (signatory attribution), and immutable with court-admissible security certificates that never expire
Digital privacy and security — a platform built on blockchain with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to eliminate the errors of manual processes and transcription with full Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) compliance
Cost-savings — through automating patient, diagnostic, insurance, payment, and recordkeeping workflows and digitizing paper applications, forms, and records
Improved patient services — digitizing your office operations to quickly execute, store, track, and retrieve:
Claims management, payments, and prior authorization
Facilities management
Human resources processes
Logistics and procurement
Patient sign-in and consent
Power of Attorney and Proxy Agreements
Prescription approval routing
Healthcare providers know the value of serving more patients with the same staff, plus saving costs with digital technologies that help meet regulatory compliance while reducing paper, printing, and storage expenses.
Blockchain technologies are helping meet those needs in healthcare and expanding the patient services healthcare providers can deliver. To learn more, visit our Healthcare industry page or contact ZorroSign today!
Cybersecurity has become increasingly important as the world becomes more interconnected and digitized. But the risks and costs of cybercrime continue to grow, as well, and the costs are staggering:
Against this threat, blockchain technology has been making waves in the world of cybersecurity for quite a few years now, and this innovative technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach online security—changing it for the better.
Here are some of the ways that we believe blockchain can be used to improve cybersecurity:
Immutable Records
To transact commerce (as an organization or individual) or operate government in a digital ecosystem requires legally enforceable digital signatures to prove agreement and intent.
Blockchain technology has an ability for the creation of immutable records, providing a secure, auditable trail of all transactions. All records and changes within a document are tracked and cannot be changed, providing important chain-of-custody audit capabilities for courts and ensuring peace of mind to its users. This also makes it ideal for use in financial transactions, real estate agreements and other high-value exchanges, where a record of every step is essential for ensuring the integrity of the process.
Secure Authentication
One of the main issues in cybersecurity is the vulnerability of traditional authentication methods such as passwords. Passwords can be easily hacked or stolen, leaving sensitive information vulnerable to attack. This can be a threat to businesses, especially those who store their users personal information. Blockchain technology can be used to provide secure authentication through the use of public-private key cryptography.
“The public key can help in encrypting a message before sending it to the concerned recipient,” explains 101 Blockchains. “When the recipient gets the message, they can use their private key for decrypting the message. It is essential to remember that only the recipient knows about the private key. Therefore, the applications of public key cryptography ensure that the valuable information of users is not tampered with in transit.”
Decentralization
Unliked centralized databases—which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices) or even at MSPs hosting them, giving attackers complete control once they gain central access—blockchain technology distributes data across geographically separate nodes. By decentralizing data storage, blockchain effectively prevents any one endpoint (even if compromised) from gaining control of the full data set.
This distributed nature so defeats any attack seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypt the data files stored therein: A single endpoint node might be breached and its files held for ransom, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.
Further, with private, permissioned blockchains, each endpoint node (or user) has a unique encryption key to access and write to the distributed ledger. If any one of those endpoints is successfully attacked (presumedly compromising their access key), the private blockchain can simply remove distributed ledger access for that compromised key, issue the endpoint a new key, and allow that endpoint to quickly regain distributed ledger access (effectively as a new endpoint).
This unique recovery process effectively maroons any ransomware on the endpoint it attacked—ending its access and threat—while allowing the endpoint to re-engage the larger data set: With a new key and without needing to pay any ransom to the attackers for restored access.
Identity Verification
Identity verification is another area where blockchain can be used to enhance cybersecurity. It ensures that the individual claiming a particular identity is actually who they say they are. It is a very important aspect of digital security, especially as identity theft “frequency has sky-rockets in the past few years,” according to the National Council on Identity Theft Protection. “Nearly half of all U.S. citizens became a victim of some form of identity theft in 2020.”
With blockchain, users can have greater control over their personal information, allowing them to manage their digital identities more securely. This makes it more difficult for hackers to steal personal information or create fake identities.
ZorroSign’s Data Security Platform Built on Blockchain
As the world becomes more digitized and interconnected, the importance of cybersecurity will only continue to grow, and blockchain is poised to play a crucial role in ensuring that our digital world remains safe and secure.
ZorroSign’s data security platform was built on blockchain, delivering digital signatures, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), patented fraud detection, user authentication, document validation, and document management all based on blockchain technologies.
ZorroSign is a strong addition to any organization’s security stack and brings the cybersecurity capabilities of blockchain to digital signatures and transactional documentation.
To learn more, visit our platform page or contact us to start a free 14 day trial. When the security of your digital data and documents is on the line, block it down!
While information and data have always been valuable commodities, they have never been as available and distributed as they are in our digital world today. With digital information being so readily generated and shared, data security rises in importance. Learning about data security and how it may impact your business, government, and personal life is a necessity. So let’s dive in to what data security means and its importance in today’s technologically driven world!
What is Data Security
“Data security is the process of safeguarding digital information throughout its entire life cycle to protect it from corruption, theft, or unauthorized access,” defines Fortinet, a computer, data, and network security company. “It covers everything—hardware, software, storage devices, and user devices; access and administrative controls; and organizations’ policies and procedures.”
“When properly implemented, robust data security strategies will protect an organization’s information assets against cybercriminal activities, but they also guard against insider threats and human error, which remains among the leading causes of data breaches today,” adds IBM. “Data security involves deploying tools and technologies that enhance the organization’s visibility into where its critical data resides and how it is used. Ideally, these tools should be able to apply protections like encryption, data masking, and redaction of sensitive files, and should automate reporting to streamline audits and adhering to regulatory requirements.”
The Importance of Data Security
In today’s digital world, protecting proprietary information—including client data, financial transactions, knowledge archives, infrastructure and databases—must be a top priority for companies and organizations. If they fail via data breaches, hacking, or theft, companies may lose customers and lose trust.
“All businesses have data that’s valuable and that has to be protected,” said Candy Alexander, international president at Information Systems Security Association, a nonprofit organization for information security professionals and practitioners.
Individuals and organizations rely on the companies they do business with to safeguard their data. If a trusted company fails at this task, the company will have more than just the legal fallout to contend with.
According to UpGuard, the combined cost of global data breaches in 2021—including customer repayments, auditing services, legal fees, and fines, among other costs—was approximately $6 trillion. But a failure to protect private information negatively impacts more than just a business’s bottom line, it endangers their reputation and future success. As such, companies employ skilled professionals to prevent or mitigate such risks.
“The cloud, mobility, and the powerful devices most of us have in our pockets enable a culture of convenience, and the ability to collaborate and be more productive. While this convenience arguably makes our lives easier, it also makes it easier for cybercriminals to gain access to our sensitive personal information wherever it lives or wherever it is traveling across the network,” explains SimpliLearn. “New security threats pop up all the time, and IT security professionals need to stay up to date with the latest tactics hackers are employing in the field.” Data security teams must include strategists, communicators, and lifelong learners to ensure IT security is consistently a top priority.
ZorroSign is a Data Security Platform Build on Blockchain
Advancing data security is critical for any technology managing data, and ZorroSign delivers data security in several ways.
The first way ZorroSign supports data security is by using distributed ledger technologies—originally built on Hyperledger Fabric, now expanded to include the Provenance Blockchain—ZorroSign provides superior privacy and security, while preventing fraud and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Blockchains provide structural layers of protection from cybercrime like ransomware, malware, or phishing attacks by decentralizing the data set itself (preventing any one breach to access the entire data set), and then by giving endpoints (or nodes) a quick path to recovery, even if they are themselves breached or their access ransomed. Unlike centralized databases—which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices) or even at managed service providers (MSPs) hosting them—giving attackers complete control once they gain central access, blockchain technology distributes data physically across separate nodes. By decentralizing data storage, blockchain effectively prevents any one endpoint (even if compromised) from gaining control of the full data set. This distributed nature defeats any attack seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypts the data files stored inside: A single endpoint node might be breached, and its files held for ransom, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.
ZorroSign has further elevated our data security through our patented fraud detection technology we call the Z-Forensics token. This unique digital solution can:
Prove that the individual who is performing the action to sign the document is who they claim to be (verification)
Apply a digital equivalent of a wet-ink signature to the document (legal intent)
Prove the authenticity of the printed or digital version of an electronically signed document, its content, attachments, and the signatures on it (authenticity)
Plus ZorroSign supports computer security with passwordless authentication capabilities, leveraging the biometric security of Apple and Android mobile devices to login to the device (and ZorroSign app) with hardware biometric capture features such as face, fingerprint, and iris scans. Such biometric login facilitates user authentication at the device-level without passwords (which can be hacked or stolen) for elevated security of digital signatures and your digital documents.
Contact us to learn more about data security and put us to the test: Start your free trial of ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain today!
Every November 30th, the United States observes National Computer Security Day. This year, we’d like to share some details on the history of this security awareness, how ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain contributes to computer security, and how you can observe National Computer Security Day to improve your hardware and data security.
“It seems like every day we hear about breaches in cyber security. Keeping people and companies safe online is a top priority all over the world. It’s something that stays uppermost in our minds on National Computer Security Day. The story of National Computer Security Day is an interesting one.
“On November 2, 1988, Cornell University researchers uncovered an unknown virus lurking in their computer systems. Within four hours of discovery, the Morris worm virus invaded several other university systems as well as the ARPANET, an early version of today’s internet.
“Six days later, two computer experts with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recommended assembling a National Computer Infection Action Team (NCAT) to respond 24/7, 365 to these kinds of attacks. On November 14, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), a research center connected with Carnegie Mellon University, set up the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).
“In 1988, the National Computer Security Day sprang out of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Special Interest Group on Security, Audit, and Control as a way to raise awareness about cybercrimes and viruses. According to a 2004 Networld article, ‘November 30 was chosen for CSD so that attention on computer security would remain high during the holiday season – when people are typically more focused on the busy shopping season than thwarting security threats.’ By 2003, CERT and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security joined forces to create the National Cyber Awareness System.
“Whether we’re talking about National Computer Security Day or National Cybersecurity Awareness Month also in October, the goals are essentially the same. Each person must be proactive to protect their online security. Use this month to find out all you can about common-sense ways to stay safe in cyberspace.”
HOW ZORROSIGN’S PLATFORM SUPPORTS COMPUTER SECURITY
ZorroSign is the first company that offers a multi-blockchain data security platform to secure, track, and manage your digital signatures, transactions, and documentation.
By using distributed ledger technologies—originally built on Hyperledger Fabric and now expanded to include the Provenance Blockchain—ZorroSign provides superior privacy and security, while preventing fraud and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Blockchains provide structural layers of protection from cybercrime—like ransomware, malware, or phishing attacks—first, by decentralizing the data set itself (preventing any one breach to access the entire data set), and second, by giving endpoints (or nodes) a quick path to recovery, even if they are themselves breached or their access ransomed. Unlike centralized databases—which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices) or even at managed service providers (MSPs) hosting them—giving attackers complete control once they gain central access, blockchain technology distributes data physically across separate nodes. By decentralizing data storage, blockchain effectively prevents any one endpoint (even if compromised) from gaining control of the full data set. This distributed nature defeats any attack seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypts the data files stored inside: A single endpoint node might be breached, and its files held for ransom, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.
ZorroSign has further elevated our security through our patented fraud detection technology we call the Z-Forensics token. This unique digital solution that can:
Prove that the individual who is performing the action to sign the document is who they claim to be (verification)
Apply a digital equivalent of a wet-ink signature to the document (legal intent)
Prove the authenticity of the printed or digital version of an electronically signed document, its content, attachments, and the signatures on it (authenticity)
Plus ZorroSign supports computer security with passwordless authentication capabilities, leveraging the biometric security of Apple and Android mobile devices to login to the device (and ZorroSign app) with hardware biometric capture features such as face, fingerprint, and iris scans. Such biometric login facilitates user authentication at the device-level without passwords (which can be hacked or stolen) for elevated security of digital signatures and your digital documents.
“Create a strong password In computer security, length matters. Passwords that are six characters are easier to hack, especially if they’re only made up of lowercase letters. To beef up your password, weave a nine-character combination of uppercase letters, symbols and numbers. Lastly, avoid using the same password for every account.
“Update spyware and malware protection software First, check to see if your operating system is up-to-date. If that’s set, update your protection software. Run a scan and don’t forget to invite your other devices to the party. Phones and tablets are also major security risks, so be diligent.
“Encrypt and backup your data Encrypt your data to create the brainiest of all brainteasers. But keep this in mind: even the best brain teaser can be cracked. That’s why it’s still important to back up your info on either the cloud or an external hard drive. (Just make sure that everything stays encrypted.)”
Use ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain Tap the cybersecurity of blockchain with ZorroSign’s platform uniting digital signatures (Z-Sign), automated compliance (Z-Flow), intelligent forms (Z-Fill), document storage (Z-Vault), patented fraud prevention (Z-Forensics), user authentication and document verification (Z-Verify), identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), and so much more. Plus elevate computer security with our passwordless login capabilities, and patented Z-Forensics token for fraud detection. When the risk is personal and everything is on the line, Block It Down!
Contact us to learn more or put us to the test: Start your free trial of ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain today!
At ZorroSign we recently made a major change to our platform architecture!
We have always been built on blockchain—and have always delivered the most private, most secure digital signatures—but we wanted to scale our platform much more aggressively, and that vison required a big change in how we develop and deploy our technology. Specifically, we moved from a centralized, monolithic approach to using microservices and containers.
Let me explain why we choose this new engineering approach and how your company might benefit from a similar move.
What Are Microservices? What Are Containers?
“A microservices architecture splits your application into multiple services that perform fine-grained functions and are part of your application as a whole,” explains IBM. “Each of your microservices will have a different logical function for your application.”
Explained another way, “a microservices framework creates a massively scalable and distributed system, which avoids the bottlenecks of a central database,” says Avi Networks (now part of VMware). “Microservices break an application into independent, loosely-coupled, individually deployable services… allowing for each service to scale or update using the deployment of service proxies without disrupting other services in the application and enabling the rapid, frequent and reliable delivery of large, complex applications.”
There are two types of microservices: Stateless (which do not save data, so any data is lost when the microservice’s container restarts), and Stateful (which do save data and so write to a database).
And where do you put those microservices? In containers.
“Containers are packages of your software that include everything that it needs to run, including code, dependencies, libraries, binaries, and more,” continues IBM. “Docker and Kubernetes are the most popular frameworks to orchestrate multiple containers in enterprise environments”
“Containers are a lightweight alternative to VMs for providing isolated operating environments for your workloads,” says Edward Kisller for JFrog. “Containers avoid the infrastructure overhead of a full-blown OS and provide only those resources (i.e., installations, dependencies, and code) that your applications actually need.” In other words, containers do not use all the CPU or RAM but instead share the operating system kernel for faster boots and less memory consumption.
“A container is a useful resource allocation and sharing technology. It’s something dev-ops people get excited about,” writes Ev Kontsevoy for Teleport. “A microservice is a software design pattern. It’s something developers get excited about.”
Why Develop with Microservices? What Are the Benefits?
“Microservices architectures make applications easier to scale and faster to develop,” notes Amazon Web Services. “Enabling innovation and accelerating time-to-market for new features.”
Such were ZorroSign’s high-level goals: To improve scalability, resilience, and productivity.
“Moving to microservices enabled a polyglot tech stack,” said Priyal Walpita, chief technology officer at ZorroSign. “Which means our engineers could contribute to our development efforts using the technology stacks that they know best, plus we boosted performance and facilitated a continuous delivery pipeline for easier and faster deployments.”
“Applications were traditionally built as monolithic pieces of software,” continues Avi Networks. “Monolithic applications have long life cycles, are updated infrequently and changes usually affect the entire application. Adding new features requires reconfiguring and updating the entire stack — from communications to security. This costly and cumbersome process delays time-to-market and updates in application development.”
In contrast to monolithic apps, microservices/container architectures bring benefits such as greater:
Agility — Microservices foster the organization of small, independent teams that take ownership of their services. “Best examples of microservices agility are sites like Amazon, eBay, Uber and Netflix, which are active 24×7,” notes AnAr Solutions. “The performance of these sites is a benchmark for other sites and applications. The response time, ability to handle multiple requests and process in minimum time is commendable.”
Productivity — “The microservice architecture tackles the speed issue of applications and its productivity by dividing it into small parts. In this way, these applications are developed and maintained at a very fast speed,” writes Terralogic. “Different teams work independently without waiting for the other team to finish their chunks of work. In this way, separate microservices are easier to locate and modify. Quality assurance of this microservice architecture is very fast as the programs which are developed early are tested instead of waiting for all the programs to be completed.”
Resilience — With microservices, an application will still function if part of it goes down because microservices allow for spinning up a replacement, granting the entire system higher resilience. “Three well-known microservices resiliency techniques improve fault tolerance and allow applications to smoothly handle failures,” explains Dr. Alan F. Castillo for Cloud Computing Technologies: Retry patterns, circuit breaker patterns, and timeout design patterns. “Employing these patterns is a very effective resiliency strategy for microservices applications. It doesn’t matter how you apply these patterns; what matters is that you have systems that can properly deal with failures.”
Continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) — Microservice facilitate CI/CD for applications and modernize the technology stack. “There are some goals of a strong CI/CD progression to serve in the microservices design, for example, every team of coders independently develop and install their changes or edits owned by them individualistically so that it did not affect or disrupt the work of other teams,” reports DevOps Enabler. “CI/CD best practices include the goal of automating the building process, testing the products, and then releasing the software. Developers must be able to track the performance metrics of DevOps throughout the software delivery lifecycle and warn people so that they can quickly recover if something goes wrong during deployment or release cycle.”
Scalability — Meeting demand is easier when microservices only have to scale the necessary components, which requires fewer resources. “Since an application is composed of multiple micro services which share no external dependencies, scaling a particular micro service instance in the flow is greatly simplified,” writes Atul Saini for Fiorano Software. “If a particular microservice in a flow becomes a bottleneck due to slow execution, that microservice can be run on more powerful hardware for increased performance if required, or one can run multiple instances of the microservice on different machines to process data elements in parallel.”
Security — “Migrating to microservices creates an opportunity for a much better security model,” explains Kontsevo. “As every microservice is a specialized process, it is a good idea to only allow it to access resources it needs. This way a vulnerability in just one microservice will not expose the rest of your system to an attacker.”
Not everything is easier with microservices, of course. Three commonly acknowledged challenges of deploying microservices typically include: First, the “complexity from managing microservices written in different languages,” as we’ve done at ZorroSign. Second, the “cost implications of network resource usage from remote calls across multiple services” and third, “investigating root causes or auditing systems becomes challenging when dealing with log management across distributed services, as log aggregators would be required,” suggests BMC.
But complexity, costs, and support all increase when any application grows, so facing those challenges with a microservices architecture is little different than facing the complexity, costs, and support challenges of a larger monolithic app.
Why ZorroSign Choose Microservices—and Why You Should, Too
Our CTO and I have been assessing microservices for several years, and committed to an overhaul of our DevOps a year ago. We spent the first half of 2022 building the next iteration of ZorroSign’s blockchain platform with microservices and containers.
“Beyond the development advantages, microservices allow us to more easily manage complex ZorroSign back-end services and improve our entire system’s resiliency,” said Walpita. “It’s far easier finding and fixing bugs, allowing our development team to focus on single, isolated functionality, and then deploying asynchronously to other development efforts, whenever new functionality is tested and ready.”
From my perspective, I was intrigued to learn how microservices improved our defense-in-depth capabilities, as security can be configured much more granularly and configured at each microservice level. With ZorroSign’s commitment to privacy and security, microservices were another important upgrade to keep our platform ahead of the competition.
“Our team develops in C#, Go, Java, and Python,” adds Walpita. “Being able to deploy all those program languages in a single application, united across AWS cloud tools, Docker, and Kubernetes, gives ZorroSign the flexibility our engineers desire and the scalability our customers demand.”
Finally, I asked Priyal what advice he might give other organizations thinking of deploying microservices. He said: “Make sure your product and development team are mature enough to adopt the complexity of a microservice architecture. At some point, a growing app’s need for scalability, higher resilience, and improved performance may make microservices the best path forward. But ensuring your DevOps are ready to integrate and manage all the pieces of a polyglot tech stack is the key to success.”
I encourage you to consider microservices for your apps, and welcome the chance to talk more about this exciting architecture for new technologies!
Blockchain-based digital signatures for greater privacy and security
With more and more businesses, governments, and individuals employing blockchain technology for commerce and operations, ZorroSign stands as key addition to your technology stack.
Whether you’re decentralizing data with web3, securing cloud or software-as-a-service (SaaS) architectures, committing to digital transformation, or elevating sustainability, our multi-chain blockchain solution is the perfect addition to your IT offerings—learn how!
If You’re Decentralizing with Web3
The idea of escaping a centralized authority managing protocols, transactions, and access was built into the World Wide Web from its earliest days.
Web 1.0 was the initial iteration of the World Wide Web in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. “Web 1.0 is the term used for the earliest version of the Internet as it emerged from its origins with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),” writes Kuntal Chakraborty for Techopedia. “Experts refer to it as the ‘read-only’ web—a web that was not interactive in any significant sense.”
From those early static web pages, a platform model of computing soon evolved that would become Web 2.0 or the ‘social web.’ Here, interaction with growing web applications and platforms drove e-commerce and the expansion of the Internet, allowing large providers to aggregate and control much of the shared data. This is the Internet we know today.
The dream of Web 3.0, however, is to break the centralization of information and democratize the Internet more to the vision of its earliest founders. “Web3, ” claims Chris Dixon from Andreesen Horowitz in a recent article in The Economist, “combines the decentralized, community-governed ethos of web1 with the advanced, modern functionality of web2.”
“The rise of technologies such as distributed ledgers and storage on blockchain will allow for data decentralization and create a transparent and secure environment, overtaking Web 2.0’s centralization, surveillance and exploitative advertising,” writes Charles Silver in a recent Forbes article. “Indeed, one of the most significant implications of decentralization and blockchain technology is in the area of data ownership and compensation… Web 3.0 will bring us a fairer internet by enabling the individual to be a sovereign.”
Blockchains are distributed ledger technology (DLT) leveraging cryptography—user authentication, data encryption and verification—to secure information records (blocks) distributed across peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. DLTs replicate, share, and synchronize digital data geographically spread across multiple sites (nodes), with no central data storage or administrator. They can run publicly (open) or privately (permissioned).
Perhaps most importantly, blockchains can support smart contracts—where terms, conditions, and permissions written into the digital code that require an exact sequence of events to take place to trigger the agreement of the terms mentioned in the blockchain contract. This hardwiring of contract details greatly increases speed (via automation), trust (where accuracy and backup are built into the transaction), and autonomy (as no third parties are required to mediate or control the exchange) of transactions.
As such, centralized solutions such as blockchains have immense potential to transform business contracts, real estate deals, digital rights, supply chain security and provenance, estate planning, and many other legal transactions.
And here is where ZorroSign shines!
We have built our digital platform from the ground up using blockchain technology. Launched with Hyperledger Fabric, our multi-chain platform now supports the public Provenance Blockchain as well, giving our users an entirely new world of decentralized digital transactions.
Our web3 technology platform also provides identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) capabilities through a patented Z-Forensics token plus fraud prevention, user authentication, and document verification. Web3 features such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) allow us to automate form completion for digital documents, and can improve regulatory compliance across global standards for legally enforceable digital signatures.
Paired with Provenance Blockchain—which reduces the need for third-party intermediation, drastically reducing costs and freeing up capital in financial transactions—ZorroSign’s platform promotes greater transparency and liquidity for organizations, and allows for new kinds of financial engineering and business opportunities.
If You’re Securing SaaS or Cloud Solutions
More than 90% of all cyber attacks begin with phishing but blockchain architecture, originally built for zero-trust environments, can deliver a compelling alternative to centralized databases and a strong protection against cyber attacks. How?
In phishing attacks that seek to steal data, blockchain presents a data architecture where no single endpoint node controls the data set. Even if an individual endpoint is hacked through phishing or other social engineering, the data set is distributed across many nodes. This decentralization of data and access means even successful phishing attacks that penetrate a blockchain endpoint only gain a small piece of system access.
In cyber attacks that seek to inject malware such as ransomware, the distributed nature of blockchain defeats those seeking to breach a system then holistically ransom the data files stored therein. Again, a single endpoint node might be breached, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.
Recovery is quicker with blockchain, too. With blockchain, each endpoint node has a unique encryption key to access and write to the distributed ledger. If any one of those endpoints is successfully hacked (compromising their access key), the blockchain can simply remove distributed ledger access for that compromised key, issue the endpoint a new key, and allow that endpoint to quickly regain distributed ledger access (effectively as a new endpoint). This speedy recovery process effectively maroons any ransomware on the endpoint it attacked—ending its access and threat—while allowing the endpoint to re-engage the larger data set with a new key and without needing to pay any ransom to the attackers for restored access.
ZorroSign technology leverages the biometric capabilities of hardware endpoints to verify user identities—for example, PC and mobile device fingerprint scans, iris scans, and face recognition to ensure users are who they claim to be.
And ZorroSign multi-factor authentication (MFA) provides maximum security, as before a user can sign a document, our platform can validate multiple dimensions of authentication based upon your transaction security needs: What you know (i.e., your ZorroSign login password ), what you have (e.g., your laptop or mobile device), who you are (e.g., biometrics such as fingerprints or eye iris on the device securing who can access it), etc.
ZorroSign has further elevated our security through our patented fraud detection technology we call the Z-Forensics token, our unique digital solution that can:
Prove that the individual who is performing the action to sign the document is who they claim to be (verification);
Apply a digital equivalent of a wet-ink signature to the document (legal intent); and,
Prove the authenticity of the printed copy or digital version of an electronically signed document, its content, attachments, and the signatures on it (authenticity).
Unlike any other digital signature solution, ZorroSign seals all your documents with our Z-Forensics token—capturing the complete audit trail and accompanying attachments and signature workflow. The token is encrypted and contains all the details about the transaction: Time stamps, user authentication, documents and attachments.
And like your SaaS solutions, ZorroSign’s SaaS model can be deployed in various cloud configurations, making it seamless to integrate into your existing platform as a public, private, hybrid, or on-premise cloud:
Our standard deployment is on Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud computing network
In our private cloud configuration, all your data and the ZorroSign application run in a private and secure cloud network dedicated to your organization
In a hybrid cloud configuration, your data can be stored on either ZorroSign data centers or in the private cloud, while the ZorroSign platform and applications run on their standard public cloud configurations
On-premise deployments require your department to manage and maintain your own data centers, but gain the benefits of unlimited API calls and total control over identity access management (IAM), data privacy and security, and data integrity processes
If You’re Committed to Digital Transformation
For years, organizations have steadily moved more and more of their operations to digital data and delivery. Such advances save time and effort, automate key processes, and drive greater efficiency and effectiveness. With digital transformation, customers or constituents can receive services faster and gain self-service options, and employees get more time to work on the most important projects.
“Digital transformation is no longer an option, but an imperative,” notes the Harvard Business Review. “Recent research from Accenture has found that in the three years prior to 2018, firms who led their industry in enterprise technology adoption grew two times faster than laggards. Today, they are growing five times faster. The risk is no longer merely getting left behind, but being eliminated altogether.”
For organizations leveraging digital data, apps and SaaS, IoT, or any of the multitude of other digital solutions, adding ZorroSign can be an important consideration.
To transact business, commerce, government, or individual trade in such a digital ecosystem also requires legally enforceable digital signatures to prove agreement and intent. Our multi-chain blockchain platform delivers such digital signatures and ensures the digital chain-of-custody necessary to successfully defend digital signatures in a court of law.
And by digitizing paper-based workflows, ZorroSign’s digital signature and document management platform can decrease costs, reduce errors, and increase productivity across digital operations . . . a massive benefit for any organization committed to digital transformation!
If You’re Focused on Sustainable Business
Digital operations also eliminate paper so “going green” with paperless operations may readily align to your IT organization’s corporate social responsibility goals or vision.
At ZorroSign, we help IT organizations deliver paperless operations. We all understand that switching from doing business using paper to digital records is not only a smart business decision, but it is also good for the environment. Each time you use ZorroSign to digitally transact agreements, contracts, and other documents—instead of printing, faxing, scanning, shipping documents overnight to collect signatures—you save trees and water, plus reduce carbon emissions.
Further, ZorroSign is dedicated to advancing sustainability while advancing new technologies, promoting a paperless life and leading sustainability programs that support environmental conservation. The company’s Save-a-Tree, Plant-a-Tree program, for example, plants a tree on behalf of customers every time they save 8,000 pages of copy paper. As one tree produces roughly 8,000 pages of copy paper, this amounts to a double incentive: Reducing the destruction of trees via reduced paper use, plus increasing the number of trees as a reward for reducing paper use.
For all these reasons and more, if you are using blockchain technologies—or planning to in 2023—consider ZorroSign as a strong complement to your technology stack! You can start with a free 14-day trial to see what we can deliver or contact us to learn more!
ZorroSign Brings the Elevated Security and Compliance Standards that Your Real Estate Business Needs
Many in the real estate industry have made the jump into digital operations and this has allowed them to conduct business on the go while elevating their client’s security and compliance needs.
Only ZorroSign pairs a web3 transaction platform with mobile technology—delivering 21st century security to the age-old ceremony of signing and storing purchase agreements, and giving your customers peace of mind needed when conducting real estate transactions digitally and remotely.
Here are three reasons that you need to make the switch to digital operations with ZorroSign . . .
Give Your Client Peace of Mind
By using ZorroSign, all the parties involved in a real estate transaction can Z-Sign documents anywhere, anytime and from their preferred device. That’s a win for everyone—especially the client! You no longer have to patiently wait through the frustratingly slow process that is paper operations. And they can keep up with their busy schedule and buy that house all while saving time and money. ZorroSign relieves you from being tied to the office or one particular place and lets you and your clients sign, send, and track documents while on-the-go.
Ensure Elevated Security
ZorroSign is the only company that offers a multi-blockchain platform to secure, track, and manage your digital signatures, transactions, and documentation.
By using distributed ledger technologies—originally built on Hyperledger Fabric and recently expanded to include the Provenance Blockchain—ZorroSign provides superior privacy and security, offering peace of mind for your real estate digital transactions, while preventing fraud and ensuring regulatory compliance.
How does this blockchain architecture contribute to ZorroSign being the best platform for your real estate needs?
Blockchain provides structural layers of protection from cybercrime, like ransomware, malware, or phishing attacks: First, by decentralizing the data set itself (preventing any one breach to access the entire data set); and second, by giving endpoints (or nodes) a quick path to recovery, even if they are themselves breached or their access ransomed.
Unlike centralized databases which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices)—or even at managed service providers (MSPs) hosting them—giving attackers complete control once they gain central access, blockchain technology distributes data physically across separate nodes. By decentralizing data storage, blockchain effectively prevents any one endpoint (even if compromised) from gaining control of the full data set.
This distributed nature so defeats any attack seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypts the data files stored inside: A single endpoint node might be breached, and its files held for ransom, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.
ZorroSign intentionally used blockchain as the framework of our business to ensure that our customers were able to experience elevated security and peace of mind.
Stay Compliant
With ZorroSign, you can easily complete and sign multiple mandatory documents and ensure compliance at every stage—we are proud to make the security and privacy of our customers’ data our top focus!
Our unique combination of security architecture and data privacy functionality grants ZorroSign compliance across international standards for privacy and security, including but not limited to:
Canada: The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
Canada: The Uniform Electronic Commerce Act (UECA)
EU: Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for data privacy and security
EU: The electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services (eIDAS) regulation
India: The Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act of India)
International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) No. 3402, Type II audited
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 certified
PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures (PAdES) is a set of restrictions and extensions to PDF and ISO 32000-1
UAE: Federal Law No. 1 of 2006 regarding Electronic Transactions and E-Commerce granting electronic signatures legal force and effect
USA: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) SOC 2 Type I audit
USA: California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
USA: Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) encryption standards
USA: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
USA: The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
USA: FDA Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations; Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures
USA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
USA: The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)
We are proud of our multi-chain blockchain platform at ZorroSign—delivering digital signatures paired with identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) technologies, a patented fraud prevention solution, AI/ML-driven form completion, and customizable workflows to ensure the highest privacy, security, and compliance for your digital transactions!
But while we live-and-breathe digital signatures, you might still be learning how digital signatures work and what benefits they might bring to your organization. We can help!
Below find some common questions we hear about digital signatures and short answers to get you started . . .
1. Are digital signatures legally accepted/enforceable like paper-based signatures?
Yes! Back in 2000, the U.S. passed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act along with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) granting electronic signatures the full strength and legality of paper-based “wet” signatures. As such, digital signatures are valid in all 50 U.S. states, plus most countries around the world.
Beyond the United States, Australia’s Electronic Transactions Act, Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), China’s 2004 Electronic Signature Law, the European Union’s Directive 199/93/EC, India’s Information Technology (IT) Act 2000, Japan’s Law Concerning Electronic Signatures and Certification Services, New Zealand’s Electronic Transactions Act, the UAE’s Federal Law No. 1 of 2006 regarding Electronic Transactions and E-Commerce, the United Kingdom’s Electronic Communications Act and subsequent Electronic Signatures Regulation 2002, all regulate and support the legal enforceability of digital signatures around the world.
2. Why do companies, governments, or other organizations typically switch from paper-based to digital signatures?
Public and private organizations move to digital signatures for many different reasons, for example:
Some switch to save the costs of paper-based document printing, copying, couriering, and storage
Some switch to speed transaction workflows, document signing ceremonies, and execution of legal agreements
Some seek to improve regulatory/quality compliance with the digital management of transaction and personal information
Some want to improve the privacy and security of documents and transactions through digital encryption and security protocols
Some aspire to improve customer/constituent experiences with digital and mobile operations
Some are looking for the competitive advantage digital operations bring with all these benefits
Why are you considering the move to digital signatures?
3. With digital signatures, how do we know the person signing is really who they say/are supposed to be?
While some digital signature platforms grant access via simple username and password, the industry standard is two-factor authentication and rapidly evolving to MFA with password-less logins.
With ZorroSign, we’ve integrated identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) technologies to verify users, for example:
ZorroSign technology leverages the biometric capabilities of hardware endpoints to verify user identities.
ZorroSign is the first to adopt password-less login amongst our digital signature competitors.
ZorroSign MFA provides maximum security, as before a user can sign a document, our platform can validate multiple dimensions of authentication based on the transaction security needs, such as:
What you know (i.e., your ZorroSign login password),
What you have (e.g., your laptop or mobile device),
Who you are (e.g., biometrics such as fingerprints or eye iris on the device securing who can access it), etc.
Additionally, ZorroSign users can optionally use our dynamic knowledge-based authentication (KBA) feature—provided by LexisNexis—which requires the knowledge of confidential information of the individual to prove that the person providing identity information is the actual person.
These technologies secure the endpoints of our private, permissioned Hyperledger Fabric blockchain architecture where only approved nodes (endpoints) are allowed to access our distributed ledger system.
4. How Does ZorroSign Use Blockchain and Web3 Technologies for Digital Signatures?
ZorroSign is the first company that offers a multi-blockchain platform to secure, track, and manage your digital signatures, transactions, and documentation!
Since 2000, several technologies have come to market to deliver digital signatures, but when a distributed ledger technology—or DLT, such as blockchain—is used for digital signatures, signers gain the unique advantages of:
Privacy — with a private blockchain, only participants to the transaction can see details of the transaction, and those participants share equal access to such details
Immutability — all records and changes are tracked and cannot be changed, providing important chain-of-custody audit capabilities for courts
Security — all records are individually encrypted and distributed for better protection from phishing and ransomware attacks
ZorroSign was built from the ground up on Hyperledger Fabric to deliver digital signatures with the superior privacy and security of blockchain.
Assuming contracts are critical to your business or organization, then a secure, reliable solution for contract lifecycle management (CLM) is imperative and blockchain supports CLM in amazing ways.
Strong CLM solutions must include visibility (a dashboard or overview of where individual contracts are in the life cycle), integration with communications and storage systems, automation (as few contracts start from scratch—most are iterations of previously created agreements), and of course change tracking to readily see how contracts changed during negotiations and what final version was executed by all parties.
With our blockchain architecture, ZorroSign’s platform unites and uniquely delivers:
Digital signatures via Z-Sign to quickly execute legally binding contracts
Patented Z-Forensics token to prevent fraud and tampering
Z-Flow workflow automation to quickly build templates and approval chains
Z-Verify to know exactly who signed what and when, with full validation of every document’s authenticity and immutability
Z-Vault to securely store contract and transaction records immutably on blockchain
ZorroSign’s platform can be accessed via PCs and mobile devices, allowing your legal department, operations and procurement teams, and sales teams to efficiently generate, negotiate, communicate, and sign agreements. And with our Z-Vault, contracts reside on an immutable document management system (DMS) where they can be saved, searched for, and managed easily from a single, intuitive user interface.
5. How Do Digital Signatures Meet International Privacy and Security Compliance?
At ZorroSign, we are proud to make the security and privacy of our customers’ data our top focus.
Our unique combination of security architecture and data privacy functionality grants ZorroSign compliance across international standards for privacy and security, including but not limited to:
Canada: The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
Canada: The Uniform Electronic Commerce Act (UECA)
EU: Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for data privacy and security
EU: The electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services (eIDAS) regulation
India: The Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act of India)
International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) No. 3402, Type II audited
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 certified
PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures (PAdES) is a set of restrictions and extensions to PDF and ISO 32000-1
UAE: Federal Law No. 1 of 2006 regarding Electronic Transactions and E-Commerce granting electronic signatures legal force and effect
USA: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) SOC 2 Type I audit
USA: California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
USA: Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) encryption standards
USA: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
USA: The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
USA: FDA Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations; Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures
USA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
USA: The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)
6. How much does it cost to try digital signature software and learn if it’s right for me?
ZorroSign offers a free 14-day trial license to test out our features, securely sign digital documents, build templates and approval workflows, and store your transaction data on blockchain.
No credit card required, visit our Free Trial page to get started!
In today’s global economy, there are lots of bad actors and threats to your digital information. Whether you work for a government agency, a business, an IT department, a law firm, a financial service provider, or just about any other organization generating and storing digital data, your information—and your customers’ or constituents’ information—must be protected.
ZorroSign’s U.S. headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona brings blockchain technology to U.S. companies, organizations, and individuals signing digital documents and executing transactions digitally.
“If you’re looking for a secure way to transact with third parties or multi-parties,” says Robert Vera from GCU‘s Canyon Ventures Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, “ZorroSign is that technology that you need to have confidence that your transactions are secure in today’s environment.”
If you’re ready to try ZorroSign’s multi-chain blockchain platform for yourself—for superior privacy and security for all your digital signatures and transactions—start a Free Trial today!
Our CEO and co-founder, Shamsh Hadi, was recently interviewed by two technology news outlets—Tech Channel News and TahawulTech.com.
Tech Channel News helps C-level executives in India and Gulf identify technologies and strategies to empower and streamline business processes. Their portal at techchannel.news informs leaders of what’s new in tech and why it matters.
TahawulTech.com, published by CPI Media Group, is the definitive platform in the Middle East for IT content. Covering stories across enterprise technology, cybersecurity and the region’s IT channel industry, TahawulTech.com brings business leaders and technology decision makers together to share their stories of transformation.
Here are short summaries of those interviews and links to read the original pieces!
ZorroSign Making Waves in Digital Signature Space Using Blockchain Technology
In April 2022, Tech Channel News’ Naushad K. Cherrayil interviewed Mr. Hadi on how ZorroSign safeguards the privacy and security of digital documents, and provides an immutable chain of custody for digital transactions, for governments and organizations in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries.
The article notes that there are “huge players in the digital signature space, but none of them have figured out how to cost-effectively map their legacy software in technologies and evolve it into Web 3.0 and blockchain solutions today.”
“We have solved all these problems,” said Hadi. “Successfully bringing blockchain to digital signatures—unlike other competitors, big and small, who simply tried to add blockchain onto their legacy software.”
The article explores ZorroSign’s roots in Dubai with development in Sri Lanka, moving the company’s global headquarters to Phoenix, and standing out from the crowd in a competitive eSignature space.
“Our platform was invented to move documentation, digital transactions from a relationship built on trust to a relationship built on truth, providing customers the ability to positively impact the environment with sustainable practices and securely transform their paper-based workloads to digital in a bid to remove errors and increase productivity,” Hadi added.
Tech Channel News uncovers how ZorroSign leverages blockchain’s zero-trust environment to support governments in the Gulf who are looking specifically for blockchain solutions, noting “two countries that are pushing forward are the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”
In May 2022, TahawulTech.com’s Anita Joseph interviewed Mr. Hadi on how ZorroSign not only provides digital signatures built on a blockchain architecture, but also integrates identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), biometrics, KBAs, and patented Z-Forensics token to prevent fraud and address identity theft risks.
Ms. Joseph also starts with ZorroSign’s founding in Dubai and how HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Digital City Vision for Smart Dubai has been a guiding principle for ZorroSign—including his goal of a paperless life in the UAE by 2030.
The article then talks of identity theft and how ZorroSign technologies confront the issue: “Not only does our web3 platform leverage the cryptographic security capabilities of blockchain,” said Hadi. “But it also integrates Identity-as-a-Service technologies into our solution set to combat fraud, identity theft, and cyber-attacks.”
Security trends, cybercrime, and various cyber-attacks are discussed, as well as how distributed ledger technologies such as blockchain can help defend and/or recover from such attack vectors. The article ends with ZorroSign’s plans for 2022 and early verticals benefitting from blockchain-based digital signatures.
Learn more about how ZorroSign helps governments, companies, and individuals around the world with digital signatures and maintaining privacy and security with their digital transactions: Contact us today or start your Free Trial.
The educational event provided an opportunity for government and business leaders to learn about the threats, vulnerabilities and consequences related to data security and privacy matters via panel discussions, keynote speakers—Tim Roemer, Director Arizona Homeland Security/CISO State of Arizona, and John Davis (Major General, US Army, Retired), VP Public Sector at Palo Alto Networks—sponsors and other cybersecurity presentations.
Tim Roemer, Director Arizona Homeland Security/CISO State of Arizona
Key Themes of the Summit
The merger of cyber and physical worlds, requiring consolidated security approaches
Building cybersecurity plans not just focused on prevention but also focused on quickly recovering from successful attacks
CISO Panelists
Blockchain Architecture For Elevated Security
ZorroSign is the only company that offers a multi-blockchain platform to secure, track, and manage your digital signatures, transactions, and documentation.
By using distributed ledger technologies—originally built on Hyperledger Fabric and recently expanded to include the Provenance Blockchain—ZorroSign provides superior privacy and security, while preventing fraud and ensuring regulatory compliance.
How does this blockchain architecture contribute to cybersecurity?
Blockchains provide structural layers of protection from cybercrime—like ransomware, malware, or phishing attacks—first, by decentralizing the data set itself (preventing any one breach to access the entire data set), and second, by giving endpoints (or nodes) a quick path to recovery, even if they are themselves breached or their access ransomed.
Unlike centralized databases—which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices) or even at managed service providers (MSPs) hosting them—giving attackers complete control once they gain central access, blockchain technology distributes data physically across separate nodes. By decentralizing data storage, blockchain effectively prevents any one endpoint (even if compromised) from gaining control of the full data set.
This distributed nature defeats any attack seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypts the data files stored inside: A single endpoint node might be breached, and its files held for ransom, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.
ZorroSign is a strong addition to any organization’s security stack, and brings the cybersecurity capabilities of blockchain to digital signatures and transactional documentation.
Z-Forensics Token
ZorroSign has further elevated our security through our patented fraud detection technology we call the Z-Forensics token. This unique digital solution that can:
Prove that the individual who is performing the action to sign the document is who they claim to be (verification)
Apply a digital equivalent of a wet-ink signature to the document (legal intent)
Prove the authenticity of the printed or digital version of an electronically signed document, its content, attachments, and the signatures on it (authenticity)
Unlike any other digital signature solution, ZorroSign seals all our clients’ documents with the Z-Forensics token—capturing the complete audit trail and accompanying attachments and signature workflow. The token is encrypted and contains all the details about the transaction: Time stamps, user authentication, documents and attachments.
Since 2013, the security world recognizes the first Thursday of May as World Password Day—promoting better password habits such as changing passwords, moving to more complex passwords, and turning on multi-factor authentication (MFA) to improve digital security.
In advance of this year’s World Password Day, ZorroSign is proud to remind our users that ZorroSign’s platform not only accommodates complex passwords and MFA, but also supports “password-less” logins!
How?
First, ZorroSign leverages the biometric security of Apple and Android mobile devices to login to the device (and ZorroSign app) with hardware biometric capture features such as face, fingerprint, and iris scans. Such biometric login facilitates password-less user authentication at the device-level for subsequent ZorroSign digital signatures and document management.
Further, our multi-chain blockchain platform can validate multiple dimensions of authentication based on the transaction security needs:
What you know — your ZorroSign login password or knowledge-based authentication
What you have — your PC or mobile device
Who you are — biometrics such as finger prints, eye iris on the device securing who can access it
ZorroSign’s dynamic knowledge-based authentication (KBA) feature—provided by LexisNexis—requires the knowledge of private information of the individual to prove that the person providing their identity information is the actual person.
With ZorroSign’s user authentication options, it is almost impossible for an imposter to sign a document on the ZorroSign platform, ensuring:
Legal Enforceability — Using digital signatures with real digital information
Signature Attribution — Incorporating high-level security provisions and multifactor authentication (including biometrics) to ensure signatory attribution to a specific user
To learn more about our password-less login capabilities and how ZorroSign provides superior privacy and data security with our blockchain platform, contact us today or sign up for a Free 14-Day Trial to see for yourself!
