Signature verification
Survey:
Signature Verification
Technologies
The future for dynamic signature verification systems seems inextricably linked to the future of digital
signatures, e-commerce, workflow management and non-repudiation of documents. Over the past year,
the lines between document management and e-commerce markets have been blurring as document man-
agement has moved on-line.
by Emma Newham
A flurry of announcements have emanated
from the dynamic signature verification (dsv)
market over the last year as the technology con-
tinues its spread across the world and across
numerous platforms. Many of these announce-
ments are a result of original equipment manu-
facturers (OEMs) hurrying to embed the tech-
nology into an increasing number of software
packages, such as Adobe Acrobat.
This market growth is graphically illustrated
by one of the industry’s leading players, PenOp.
According to company spokesman Arthur
Llewellyn, approximately 9.7 million PenOp sig-
natures were applied to electronic forms in 1998,
yet in 1999 this figure rocketed to an estimated
40 million.
The potential market for dsv systems is easy
to see. Suppliers told Btt that around 15% of a US
company’s revenue is used up by document pro-
cessing and that 60% of documents are signa-
ture dependent. The cost of dsv to speed up and
secure these processes is just a drop in the ocean
compared to such figures - with a typical digi-
tiser tablet now costing well below US$100.
Software solutions
There are numerous examples of dsv technol-
ogy being embedded into software packages.
For example, PenOp’s German OEM worked
with Easy Software to include signature verifi-
cation in its latest version of Easy DMS, a docu-
ment management system. This enables users to
sign Easy DMS Folders electronically. PenOp
also formed an OEM agreement with JefForm to
develop a signature system for the supplier’s
Pocket Form software designed for use with the
Windows CE platform.
Another adopter of PenOp technology was
ELF Solutions. It integrated the signature system
ISSN 0965-2590 /00/$20.00 © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
8 • Btt April 2000
with its I-32 product suite. This enables ELF doc-
uments that are already embedded within major
banking, insurance and healthcare software appli-
cations worldwide to be signed with legally effec-
tive electronic signatures.
According to Jeremy Newman, founder of
PenOp: “Forms play an indispensable part in
the way business is conducted. Key industries
such as banking, finance, insurance and inter-
national trade rely on forms to process loans,
complete statutory returns or export goods. ELF’s
dynamic automated electronic forms combined
with PenOp electronic signatures provide a secure
electronic environment in which businesses can
operate internally and across the internet.”
Demonstrating the global reach of the tech-
nology, PenOp also saw growth in Asia Pacific
through its distributor E-Com Asia Pacific. One
of the largest insurance companies in Singapore,
Prudential Singapore, has issued PenOp’s sig-
nature software to 3000 of its life assurance agents.
The PruPower program allows agents to trans-
act business in the field using laptop computers
configured with PenOp’s signature capture soft-
ware. It also enables the signing of legally bind-
ing quotations and proposal forms and allows
agents to verify and sign sensitive emails.
Acrobatics
Screen saver offerings
A feature of the Prudential installation is that
As with other biometric types,
the PruPower documents are created and man-
dynamic signature verification
aged in Lotus Notes and presented on-screen for suppliers also have their own
signing in Adobe Acrobat format. off-the-shelf biometric screen
The functionality needed to secure document savers. In fact, Cyber SIGN is
approval within Acrobat is something that a now distributing its biometrics
screen saver free of charge
number of the players in the dsv market have with purchases of a Wacom
been keen to develop. One of these is US supplier digitising tablet in Europe or
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC). the Middle East.

Information online in demand
A study conducted in the UK for Motorola endorses the view in other countries that consumers
want to be able to bank and receive information electronically. Whether from a desktop or mobile
device this necessitates security measures and biometrics such as digital signature verification
could benefit. The study showed that services people want to receive electronically included travel
timetables (39%), travel updates (for example road congestion or accident hot spots – 34%) and
other sources (such as news and weather reports – 34%). A third would also want to buy their
travel tickets electronically, while 31% would like to purchase other goods in this way.
Access to services via a portable device was a less popular option, though still of interest to
significant numbers of respondents. Banking is still the most popular service for people wishing
to use mobile devices (33%), with ‘receive travel timetables’, ‘view information services’ and ‘receive
travel updates’ via a portable device all being voted for by 26% of respondents.
Once a document has been created, the supplier’s
Sign-it solution allows it to be signed by the
required number of people using an epad pen
input device from Interlink. Any later alterations
to the document are recorded, along with new
Ready for 2000 signatures with the original version available for
The Speaker of the US House review at any time. The whole package is secured
of Congress and senator
Strom Thurmond used PenOp using secure hash algorithm techniques, through
technology to demonstrate the release of a VeriSign digital certificate upon
significance of the electronic authentication, and public key encryption.
signature when they signed Another well-known player in the market sup-
the Year 2000 Readiness and
Responsibility Act. The
porting Adobe Acrobat 4.0 is Cyber SIGN. The
process involved using a supplier’s Cyber-SIGN for Notes also support Lotus
pressure-sensitive pad and Notes and is made up of Workspace Anywhere,
pen-like stylus to sign the bill Sign-In and Sign-Doc.
in their own handwriting. The Workspace Anywhere enables a computer user,
electronic version was then
emailed to President Clinton
once verified, to use any computer on the network
for approval. as their own, automatically bringing up their
Notes desktop on another computer. Sign-In pro-
vides password replacement while Sign-Doc
adds biometric authorisation to documents and
on-line forms. These products were developed by
Pioneer System Science and launched at the
end of 1999.
Cyber Sign’s product range can also support
other packages, such as enCommerce’s getAccess,
a portal infrastructure for secure authentication,
authorisation and administrative services.
End users
Any industry which moves documents or forms
can use signature verification as security.
According to CIC, an estimated 30 billion origi-
nal documents are generated in corporate
America alone.
One industry where a number of developments
have been made in the last year is the pharma-
ceutical sector.
Fisher-Rosemont, for example, has used
Cyber-SIGN to create EZ-Author, a workflow
application for documentation approval in
the pharmaceutical industry, while Phoenix
Systems Integration has developed a secure doc-
ument management system for the storage and
Signature verification
processing of production related documents for
Bayer.
Interest in dsv is now being shown by doctors
and pharmacists as part of automated systems
including patients, doctors, pharmacists and
insurance claims.
In the legal world, the Federal Court in Tampa,
Florida, USA, is currently creating a legal docu-
ment management system allowing court officials
and attorneys to sign and encrypt Microsoft
Word documents. The goal of this application is
to speed up the lengthy process of attorney-to-
attorney communication as well as to provide
undeniable evidence of the delivery for judicial
order. A future application may include the
remote signing of arrest warrants.
Cyber SIGN’s signature software has also been
integrated into document and workflow systems
for the US State of Virginia’s Department of the
Interior and the US Postal Service.
In Asia, 100 000 employees at Japanese
telecomms company NTT are using Cyber
SIGN’s dsv technology to secure email and con-
nection to the corporation’s central server for
printing and signing letters from their desktop
PCs, while the supplier is also providing a system
for physical access control at the University of
Japan for securing access to its computer rooms.
Virtual security
Most biometrics companies have been work-
ing to join their biometric with PKI products.
Signature verification companies are no different.
CIC linked with VeriSign for its Sign-it for Adobe
Acrobat; other dsv suppliers are also working on
authentication modules that support VeriSign as
well as PKI products from Xcert and Entrust.
Virtual businesses are also endorsing dynamic
signature verification. Two subsidiaries of CBQ,
an internet business solutions provider, have
chosen the signature authentication solution from
the LCI Technology Group. CBQ!care.net is a
healthcare provider and Prioritycash.com is a
portal providing credit card approval and elec-
tronic funds transfer.
PDA explosion
As all software suppliers know, ensuring that
products work with an array of hardware ensures
diversification of markets and a greater poten-
tial customer base. Digitiser tablets, which six
years ago cost US$300, can now be bought for well
under US$100. PenOp software, for example,
will take into account any differences in input
Btt April 2000 • 9
Signature verification
from the various ‘approved’ tablets, so customers
have a choice of off-the-shelf packages, able to
work with a variety of digitiser tablets.
However, with the exponential growth in use
of handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) as
business tools, desktop digitisers are no longer
the only way to sign-off documents. Over the
past year many dsv solutions have been launched
for the PDA environment. This is likely to be a
shrewd move, particularly considering the
growth statistics for this market.
Some 5.4 million handheld units were sold
worldwide by the end of 1999, according to
market forecast group IDC, with 3Com’s Palm
devices dominating the market. IDC expects the
A Selection of Commercially Available DSV Systems
CIC
By working with OEMs, Communication Intelligence
Corporation (CIC) has evolved its business structure to set
up a consumer-focused sales group that now works within
vertical markets such as healthcare and government. With its
background in handwriting recognition, the company is well
positioned to move into the mobile market while its Sign-It
solution is also seeing a lot of interest from the pharmaceuti-
cal and insurance sectors. It anticipates dynamic signature
verification having a large part to play in the future of
e-commerce.
Cyber SIGN
With a US$2.2million turnover last year, Cyber SIGN is
expecting this to quadruple over the coming year as markets
mature. The company is opening a European operation
during the second quarter of 2000 to bridge the gap between
Cyber SIGN in the US and Cadix in Japan, Malaysia and
Singapore. The company feels that after eight years in the
dsv business the world has finally woken up to it as a serious
biometric solution. Insurance, banks and, of course, the
mobile market are expected to be large markets for Cyber
SIGN’s solution in 2000/2001.
DataVision
Automated and manual visual comparison of the signatures
for financial transactions are DataVision’s main markets. This
US company offers dynamic signature verification as an add
on to its solutions for financial institutions. Five signatures,
signed on a DataVision digitiser tablet, are required from new
customers for enrolment onto the supplier’s system.
IVI-Checkmate
IVI Checkmate is a US leader in financial transaction systems.
It has a number of signature verification products. Its en-Sign
2020 product is still available but has now been superceded
by the eN-Touch 1000, which is a consumer activated touch
screen and signature capture pad.
PenOp
PenOp has had a good 1999 with the expansion of the PenOp
Signature Series software to many different software
packages and platforms, strategic partnerships with
@pos.com and JefForm and the launch of plug-ins for Palm
OS, Adobe Acrobat, Easy DMS, Cimmetry AutoVue, Microsoft
Word and ELF Solutions’ I-32 product suite. Plans are now
underway to deliver general authentication modules that
support public key infrastructure (PKI) products from Xcert,
Entrust and VeriSign.
10 • Btt April 2000
market for all such devices to grow to 18.9 mil- CIC results improve
lion units by 2003. In particular, Japan will see a CIC announced year end
40% growth rate over this time, with just under results showing an increase
of 42% in revenues from
10 million units sold by 2003.
US$6.5 million in 1999
CIC’s Sign-it solution and PenOp’s PocketSign compared to US$4.5 million
enable owners of a Palm OS handheld organiser in 1998. Losses decreased
to electronically sign documents and e-commerce from US$3.6 million to
US$1.7 million in 1999.
transactions on their PC. According to Bill Dyszel,
author of PalmPilot for Dummies: “PenOp
PocketSign is the kind of application that makes
your handheld organiser an indispensable tool
even when it would otherwise be idle in the
cradle on your desk.”
With the ability to sign contracts and submit
applications via the web or through e-mail,
Quintet
Quintet has added more products to its range and been
issued three more patents in the USA. The company has now
licensed its technology to Smart Card Technology Group and
E x W a y in Japan. The supplier’s SignCrypt software is
available on all Windows platforms. With SignCrypt the
encryption string is generated from the signature data and
blended with a time stamp. Other products include Q-Safe,
SignLock and SignShield. Q-Safe is a physical access control
solution for safety deposit boxes. SignLock is a Windows NT
multilayer access control system for LAN, WAN and in-
dividual NT workstations using three-factor authentication.
SignShield allows a user to build a security shell to shield all
files of concern. Access to files (which can be dragged and
dropped into the secure environment) can be via password,
signature or smart cards.
SoftPro
Dynamic signature verification is offered as an additional
module to its automated signature verification system for
financial institutions checking signatures on cheques. Using
SoftPro’s Sign Pad, the dynamics of a signature can be
captured for later verification. The system can be used for
verification at the teller window or at the point of sale. The
verification of signers in high value transactions is of growing
importance to the banking community with a number of
banks around the world currently considering the use of dsv.
(Deutsche Bank will be using SoftPro’s automated signature
system from end of March with dsv coming in
September/October).
WonderNet
WonderNet and Wacom announced a joint strategic
partnership at the end of last year to develop and market
dynamic signature verification systems. The company’s
product is called PenFlow. The software can pick out many
factors, including the pen’s stroke rate, rhythm of movement
and the height of the nib above the tablet between words.
The software can also take into account variations in a
person’s signature
Xenetek
This small US company, which launched its Vericator II and
Vericator API in 1999, told Btt that, “This year is shaping up
to be our best year ever. The interest in the products is at an
all time high”. Its systems have been designed for network
access control and retail point of sale with software
installation on the client processor. Equal error rates below
one per cent have been quoted.