New Digital Signature Services OASIS Standard

OASIS, the international standards consortium, today announced that its members have approved Digital Signature Services (DSS) version 1.0 as an OASIS Standard, a status that signifies the highest level of ratification. DSS defines an XML interface to process digital signatures for Web services and other applications, enabling the sharing of digital signature creation, verification and other associated services, without complex client software and configuration.

“DSS makes it easy to use digital signatures because it lets companies control their signature applications on an organizational basis through a network-based server,” said Juan Cruellas of Centre d’aplicacions avanades d’Internet (CANET), co-chair of the OASIS DSS Technical Committee. “Instead of being managed individually, signing keys are maintained on a secure server with controls that minimize the risk of compromise. Signatures can still be created by authorized individuals, but instead of requiring specialized signing equipment for each person, DSS allows organizations to use their existing authentication mechanisms, such as passwords, two factors, biometrics, etc.”

DSS describes two XML-based request/response protocols, one for signatures and a second for verification. Using these protocols, a client can send documents to a server and receive back a signature on the documents; or send documents and a signature to a server and receive back an answer on whether the signature verifies the documents.