Trust Services

In a fast-moving interconnected world, life stories are unfolding online just as much as in the real world. Trust has become an important mechanism that is essential in how we navigate our personal and business relationships. From building new connections, pursuing interests, to making online payments and signing property deals, all is possible in an online environment provided there is trust.

As more and more of our everyday live happens online, the security of our online activities across Europe has become an urgency and a necessity.

We must feel reassured that we are protected online, and our transactions and contracts are not tampered with. That is why the EU is introducing rules to strengthen trust services and create a European internal market for trust services by ensuring that they will work across borders and have the same legal status as their traditional paper-based equivalents.

As more and more providers offer services for remuneration, that aim to increase trust in digital transactions, the Digital Identity regulation creates rules for such trust service that enable their use across border. Trust services encompass:

• the creation and validation of electronic signatures or electronic seals
• the management of remote electronic signature creation devices or remote electronic seal creation devices
• the preservation of electronic signatures, electronic seals, certificates for electronic signatures or seals
• the issuance and validation of electronic attestations of attributes
• the provision of electronic registered delivery services and the validation of the delivered data and related evidence
• the creation and validation of electronic timestamps
• the electronic archiving of electronic data and electronic documents
• the recording of electronic data in an electronic ledger
• the issuance and validation of certificates for electronic signatures electronic seals, website authentication or the provision of other trust services

They all helps us be sure of the person or business we are dealing with online, whether we are signing documents online, receiving a sales receipt, or checking we are buying real not counterfeit products. Indeed, thanks to technology, trust has become a reality in the digital world. Trust services allow us to interact with government services or sign business contracts at a fingertip which before required hand-written signatures, physical presence, and stamps and letters.