Digital signing is not a new concept in the world of information security; it has been studied theoretically for more than forty years. However, its practical application is much more recent, and its widespread adoption came about due to social and functional changes that impacted the digital world following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Challenges in digital signature implementation
This technological tool allows you to apply a mathematical procedure to a digital document that requires information known exclusively to and under absolute control of the signer.
To identify who signs and ensure that the digital document was not altered after the signature was made, it must be verifiable by third parties.
However, the reality is that this tool operates in a constantly changing ecosystem where platforms, cryptographic devices, operating systems, and different browsers update and modify without pause.
Keeping up with all these updates makes it difficult for users to guarantee the proper functioning of a digital signature-based system to the point that the only solution seems to be increasing IT support hours or resorting to endless training hours for those who need to perform transactions with digital signatures.
Internet Explorer and Banco Santander Chile
Banco Santander Chile users were navigating this same ecosystem of changes when June 15, 2022 arrived, the scheduled date for the EOL (End of Life) of Internet Explorer.
The discontinuation of one of the earliest browsers affected hundreds of end users who requested an alternative to continue performing their operations in other browsers.
Until then, they had used IE to carry out their signing processes across different organizational channels. This approach limited the use of different applications to the Windows operating environment and was not supported by others such as MacOS or Linux.
Using alternative browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari, or Brave was also not a viable option since this required the installation of an ActiveX component, a process that requires administrator privileges.
Seeking an effective solution for its users, the Bank turned to CertiSur, where we have a long track record in the use of digital signature technology.
Alison Desktop, the cross-platform solution
With more than two decades of experience, we are aware of the importance of digital signing in ensuring secure authentication. At the same time, we understand the challenges that users and organizations face daily when operating with it.
Based on this deep understanding of the situation, our IT Department developed a suite of four tools that facilitates the integration of digital signature and secure authentication functionalities:
- ALISON Desktop. Aplicación de escritorio que permite solicitar y administrar certificados y firmar documentos y transacciones. Además, cuenta con el beneficio de ser multiplataforma (Win/MacOS/Linux) y accesible desde cualquier navegador mediante SDK 100% Javascript.
- ALISON Wizard. Este asistente guía a los usuarios en el proceso de descargar e instalar Alison Desktop. Al mismo tiempo, diagnostica y comprueba los certificados y su correcta instalación y funciona como ayuda en el trabajo de los equipos de soporte.
- Colt. Este portal de administración de certificados permite emitir, renovar y probar los certificados en las estaciones de trabajo.
- Debbie. Herramienta de verificación de certificados y validación de firmas.
The process for working with the suite of tools requires accessing the Wizard to download the Alison Desktop application and install it with the assistant's guidance. The process is straightforward for the end user and does not require administrator privileges or specific browser configuration, making it an ideal solution for organizations.
Satisfied customers
Just as happened with our clients who were already successfully using this solution, as of July 2022 all channels of Banco Santander Chile have implemented this new signing mechanism.
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