Digital technology continues to develop, providing added convenience for business people and the general public in various ways. One of these is digital signatures, which are used to prove the authenticity and validity of various types of documents. Digital signatures are already widely used by individuals, companies, and government institutions for formal purposes involving digital documents.
TTEs contain encrypted electronic information in the form of an electronic certificate used as a means of verification and authentication. Globally, a valid digital signature is one that uses a cryptographic security mechanism and is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA). In Indonesia, this is known as a Certificate Authority (CA), like PT Indonesia Digital Identity (VIDA) itself, which are registered bodies that are certified to issue electronic certificates. This means that digital signatures are legally binding.
As a CA under the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo), VIDA is authorized to issue authentic and legally binding electronic certificates and digital signatures in Indonesia. VIDA product standards are also recognized by global companies such as Adobe and Microsoft. CA’s are continuing to develop the important function of digital signature security technology, issuing digital signatures that can only be owned and used by users whose identity has been verified by the issuing PSrE and cannot be transferred or used by third parties, because of the authentication process required to use them.
Since the birth of the ITE Law in 2008, digital signatures have been introduced into Indonesia's digital ecosystem. However, secure and easy digital signature access is still very limited and not easily understood. Technological innovations introduced by VIDA, for example, have equipped CA-issued digital signatures, which were first established in 2018, with identity verification, thus enabling more individuals and businesses to use digital signatures from just one application.
VIDA as a CA is the first company in Indonesia to be registered as a Trust Service Provider, in this case as a certified electronic certificate provider, to make signatures in Adobe applications legally recognized in Indonesia. VIDA's digital signature has been recognized by Adobe by being listed on the Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL).
The AATL is a program that allows users to create a secure and valid digital signature on any signed document. It is accessible using the Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Reader, or Adobe Sign applications and is recognized in 40 countries.
As a PDF creator, Adobe is a leading international company for secure digital documents. When a user creates a digital signature on a document and sends the document, he or she requires an electronic certificate issued by the CA. If the CA already has an AATL certificate, the user can directly open the document without needing to download the electronic certificate on the device used.
Niki Luhur, Founder and Chairman of VIDA, stated that VIDA's partnership with Adobe is a major achievement. “This is in line with VIDA's goal of having strong collaborations with industry at a global level. This partnership also demonstrates our commitment to meeting international level security standards, continuing to maintain certifications and good practices in providing the best service for our customers. VIDA is committed to providing a safe and reliable digital-signature certificate in the document-signing process," he said.
Sati Rasuanto, Co-Founder and CEO of VIDA, explained that a secure digital signature demonstrates the integrity and authenticity of documents. VIDA has answered the need for fast and secure document signatures by focusing on providing the public with ease and security in the document–signing process.
“As Adobe's trusted service provider, our role starts from the customer acquisition stage by verifying the signer through the KYC (Know Your Customer) process and then issuing the electronic certificate. After that, we also assist in the authentication process. VIDA issues certificate-based digital identities that are used to meet legal and regulatory requirements that are secure in Indonesia, and are accepted in various countries. The ability to verify the authenticity of every signature that is backed by a VIDA certificate makes it automatically trusted in Adobe products,” said Sati.
Users are guaranteed a worry-free experience, as the AATL certificate key pair must be generated and stored in the device security module or on a FIPS 142-2 L2+ compliant smart card. This requirement facilitates two-factor authentication (2FA), as well as provides additional security, as the certificate's private key cannot be tampered with or exported from the device - thereby eliminating the potential for abuse.
To maximize digital signature security, VIDA is also the first CA to achieve WebTrust accreditation in Indonesia. WebTrust is a certificate given to CAs that consistently adheres to security standards developed and managed jointly by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). This accreditation allows VIDA to provide stronger assurance for companies and customers that the applications being accessed can maintain the privacy and security of user data.
With these various security guards, business people and the general public no longer need to hesitate to take advantage of digital signature services such as those provided by VIDA. Its legitimacy is guaranteed by the State according to Article 11 of the 2008 ITE Law which states that signatures have legal force and legal consequences as long as they meet the requirements set by the government. VIDA is also registered as an IKD (Digital Financial Innovation) provider registered with the OJK, so that the products and solutions offered by VIDA can be adopted by various sectors and industries, including the financial services industry, to make it easier to verify their customers.
