Jeffrey KovarU.S. Department of State

Migrating to an eApostille

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Agenda

• Part I: Introduction

• Part II: Why Digital Signatures?

• Part III: Requirements

• Part IV: How would it work?

Part I:Introduction

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1961 Hague Convention

• Apostille Home Page • Text of the Convention• Which Countries are Parties?• Who are the Competent Authorities?

www.hcch.net

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Applies To …

• Public Documents

• Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates

• Documents Issued by a Court or Tribunal

• Notarial Acts – notarized documents

• Patents

• Extracts from Commercial Registers

• Diplomas

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Apostille Authorities U.S.A.

• Authentication Officer, Acting Authentication Officer and Assistant Authentication Officer, United States Department of State -http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/

• Clerks and Deputy Clerks of Federal Courts of the United States of America -http://www.uscourts.gov/districtcourts.html

• State Notary Public Administrators -http://www.nass.org/NPA/us/UnitedStates.htm

Part II:Why Digital Signatures?

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What is a Digital Signature?

Digital Signature:

A cryptographically computed value that binds the identity of a signatory to the signed document. The resulting signed document is protected against unauthorized modifications and can be used to achieve non-repudiation.

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U.S. Legal Framework

Federal Legislation and Directives: Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act

(E-SIGN) PDD-63 & President Management Agenda (PMA)

State Legislation: Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)

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International Legal Framework

• 1961 Hague Apostille Convention

• 1996 UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce

• 2001 UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures

• 2005 UNCITRAL Convention on Electronic Contracting (pending)

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Practical Drivers

Easier to detect fraudulent signaturesEntire documents are protected cryptographically

from tamperingDigital signatures are becoming more common

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office signs applicationsGovernment Agencies currently looking to use digital

signatures to save moneyOthers applications sure to follow

Part III: Requirements

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Smart Cards and Keys

• Digital signature key pair is generated on the card.

• There is a public key and a private key.

• The private key never leaves the card.

• The public key is available to the world.

• Public key is certified by a certificate.

S

SALLY B JONES0012345

12/99

I E

Department of State

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Hardware and Software Required to Sign

• Software– Datakey CIP (card

reader software) – Precise drivers– Adobe 7.0

•Hardware

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Requirements for Validation

eDocument with Digitally Certified eApostille

Adobe 7.0 Reader (FREE) Web link to check authorization

Part IV: How would it work?

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Attaching an eApostille

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Select Attach a File

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Choose File Attachment Icon

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Choose Sign from the Toolbar

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Apply Certifying Signature

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Confirmation to Certify Document

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Disallow any further changes

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Select Visibility

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Use Your Mouse to Sign

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Select Signing Credential

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Save as New Signed Document

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Save As…

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Enter Smartcard Password

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You Have Successfully Signed the Document

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Check Validation

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Successful Validation

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Invalid Signature

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Unsuccessful Validation

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Questions & Answers

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Points of Contact

Jeffrey KovarU.S. Department of State

202-776-8342kovarjd@state.gov

Monica GawU.S. Department of State

202-736-9107gawma@state.gov