Media discontinuities: No problem with signatures from A-Trust

"Discontinuity-free"or (Media) „disruption-free“ are popular buzzwords in the field of process optimization and often a flagship for the degree of digitization in companies. In the reality of work in many companies and organizations, however, media discontinuities still occur, caused by the switch from analogue to digital media or vice versa. The crux of the matter is that printed, digital signatures lose their verifiability and it is therefore no longer possible to trace whether the documents in question have actually been validly signed. The media-break-proof qualified signature from A-Trust is designed to enable precisely this traceability for printed documents: The original, digitally signed document can be accessed via a QR code integrated into the familiar signature image. This innovative feature can be tested in the A-Trust account and integrated into your own signature environment by A-Trust integration partners.

Mastering media discontinuities: digital signatures remain verifiable even on printed documents.

A media discontinuity occurs when the medium is changed during the transmission of information within the transmission chain. In many cases, this results in the risk of information being passed on slowly or even falsified.

Media discontinuities are therefore not only inconvenient, but also a potential source of error that must be avoided or at least taken into account. But it is also a fact that media disruptions happen and are still often part of our everyday lives. The digital transformation will not happen overnight, but will only gradually permeate our living and working environments. Until then, the everyday lives of many companies and individuals will probably still involve the occasional media disruption. There are numerous concrete examples of this: When handwritten data is entered into a digital system, a media disruption occurs. The same applies when an invoice that has found its way into the company by post is scanned. Or: a document is digitally signed, but is then still printed out and filed.

The problem here is not so much that media breaks occur. The problem is that - as already mentioned at the beginning - something can be "lost" in the process: In the last example, in the case of printed digital signatures, it‘s their traceability and verifiability.

The media-break-proof signature from A-Trust is not only intended to reflect the current reality of work in many companies - including occasional media breaks - but also to make life and work easier for users of the qualified signature.

The signature image of the media-break-proof signature contains a QR code that leads directly to the electronic document, including the valid qualified signature. This means that it is still possible to trace who signed the document and when, even on the printed document. Optionally, the signed document can also be protected by means of a password, which is defined during the signature process.

The new function can already be tested in the A-Trust account and documents can be provided with media-break-proof signatures.

A-Trust partners can also integrate this feature into their own signature platform or software and thus maximize the benefits for their customers - because: professional solutions for satisfied customers are the focus of all our partnerships. Simply contact the A-Trust Sales Team for more information.