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eIDAS (electronic seals)

Under the seal of security: Becoming a qualified trust service provider for electronic seals

As a trust service provider (TSP) for electronic seals, you provide companies and authorities with an electronic equivalent to the company stamp. To ensure that your customers can also be sure that your seal service is trustworthy and officially recognised, you must meet extensive legal and technical requirements, which are regulated in the eIDAS Regulation, among other things. Only if you provide independent proof in the form of a conformity assessment report from a conformity assessment body (TÜV NORD) will you be included in the European eIDAS Trusted List of qualified providers (EU TrustedList).

Become a qualified trust service provider with us: We support you with a wide range of services, check the implementation of the necessary requirements and accompany you on your way to a successful conformity assessment (certification) - and later re-certification. In addition, we offer you workshops to optimally prepare you for an upcoming certification in accordance with eIDAS and ETSI requirements, or make you the eIDAS.PROFESSIONAL of your company as part of our special training programme.

Target group of the certification for trust service providers for electronic seals

Our offer is aimed at a wide range of organisations involved in the secure, legally binding distribution and use of digital seals:

  • Companies that already operate a qualified electronic seal service or are planning to set up a qualified electronic seal service
  • Providers of digital identity services, certification services or trust services within the meaning of the eIDAS Regulation

The advantages of certification at a glance

  • Authorisation as a qualified trust service provider: You objectively prove that you fulfil the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation.
  • European recognition: You will be included in the EU Trusted List (EUTL).
  • Access to the European Single Market: Your service can be used throughout the EU in a legally binding manner.
  • Transparent GAP analysis: We identify optimisation potential in your current implementation.
  • Training & expertise: With our training, your employees become your company's own eIDAS.PROFESSIONALs.

Your path to becoming a certified trust service provider for electronic seals

This is how we support you holistically:

Training & Qualification

  • eIDAS.PROFESSIONAL training for your employees

Concept & preparation

  • Overview of the legal requirements for trust services, including the relevant eIDAS requirements, relevant ETSI standards and evaluation of these requirements in the respective context
  • Explanation of the meaning of the Trust Service Practice Statement (TSPS) and introduction to the TÜV NORD certification programme, including normative and legal requirements, interpretations and other relevant aspects
  • Workshops and preliminary audits to identify non-conformities and potential for improvement through status analyses of the PKI or trust service and GAP analysis of existing documentation and processes

Testing & conformity assessment

Audit of your implementation based on the eIDAS Regulation, including

  • Article 38: Qualified certificates for electronic seals
  • Article 39: Qualified electronic seal creation devices

Application of the following ETSI standards:

  • ETSI EN 319 401: Electronic signatures and infrastructures: General requirements for trust service providers
  • ETSI EN 319 411-1: Guidelines and security requirements for trust service providers issuing certificates; Part 1: General requirements
  • ETSI EN 319 411-2: Guidelines and security requirements for trust service providers issuing certificates; Part 2: Requirements for trust service providers issuing qualified EU certificates
  • ETSI TS 119 431-1: Electronic Signatures and Trust Infrastructures (ESI); Guidelines and security requirements for trust service providers; Part 1: TSP services operating a remote QSCD / SCDe

Certification & re-certification

  • Conformity assessment and certification
  • Support for inclusion in the EU Trusted Service List

FAQ - Frequently asked questions about electronic seals & trust service providers

An electronic seal is the electronic or digital equivalent of the analogue company stamp. It confirms the integrity and authenticity of an electronic document and proves that it originates from a legal entity.

While an electronic signature identifies a natural person, an electronic seal confirms the identity of a legal entity (e.g. a company). It therefore serves as proof of origin for documents.

A qualified trust service provider is a company that offers certain trust services such as the issuing of qualified electronic seals - and demonstrably fulfils the high requirements of the eIDAS Regulation.

Only those who are included in the TSL as qualified trust service providers may offer the trust service in the EU internal market and are recognised throughout Europe. This creates trust among customers and partners and opens up access to the European single market.

The prerequisite is the complete and verifiable implementation of the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation and relevant ETSI standards - for example, for the identification and authenticity of seals and systems.

As part of the conformity assessment and certification process, independent evaluators from conformity assessment bodies (CAB) (such as TÜV NORD CERT) check your documents (e.g. CP/CPS/TSPS, policy disclosure statement, general terms and conditions and termination plan) for compliance with criteria and requirements, technical and organisational measures based on the relevant eIDAS articles and standards such as ETSI EN 319 401.

Electronic seals are used, for example, for e-mails, electronic receipt stamps, certificates, authentications or in mass invoicing - wherever the origin and integrity of documents must be ensured.

Our eIDAS.PROFESSIONAL training enables your employees to understand and implement the eIDAS requirements and guide them securely through the verification process - and turns them into your company's own eIDAS experts.

Why are we a strong partner for you?

We support you with in-depth expertise in the field of electronic seals, trust services and conformity assessments - from the initial idea to successful certification. Our experts know the regulatory requirements of the eIDAS Regulation and relevant ETSI standards in detail. With workshops, our eIDAS.PROFESSIONAL training and preliminary tests, we ensure that your trust service is legally compliant, secure and recognised throughout Europe. Trust in our experience - for maximum security, integrity and authenticity of your digital documents.

Expertise

Our experienced experts have already successfully implemented more than 500 PKI projects of various sizes, some of them transnational.

Industry experience

Thanks to our many years of experience in a wide variety of sectors, we are able to serve companies in a wide range of industries.

Everything from a single source

We provide you with the eIDAS all-round package: from training and workshops to planning support and audits through to conformity assessment (certification).

Do you have any questions? We are happy to help!

Additional services

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