Introduction of Adobe CDS

Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is considered to be the safest way to send important documents worldwide – especially those documents where in you have to ensure that the information does not get changed. However modern technology has found a way to circumvent the security provided by Adobe PDF. With certified digital signatures, businesses can deliver important documents and information to internal and external customers with the assurance that it arrives exactly as it was intended. This is where Adobe Certified Document Signing (CDS) comes into the picture.

Certifying the authenticity of any document has become stronger than ever as business are quickly upgrading to an electronic environment. Digital Signatures are taking the place of physical signatures to validate documents. In such a scenario, certified digital signature capabilities become necessary to businesses.

Adobe Certified Document Signing is designed to allow authors and creators of Adobe PDF files to verify their identity to recipients. Identity verification is generally done by a trusted third-party organization. Adobe (CDS) Certified Document Signing also confirms that the content of the document hasn’t been in any way altered during transmission. With Adobe Certified Document Signing, organizations are able to exchange electronic documents that much more securely and reliably.

Adobe Certified Document Signing is usually embedded within Adobe applications and is quite easy to use. With Adobe Certified Document Signing the author can not only create his or her own PDF digital signature but also get it certified by the relevant Certification Authority. The certified digital signature can then be used to digitally sign Adobe PDF files and thereby secure those PDF documents.

Documents validated with a certified digital signature are significantly different from those signed with a regular PDF digital signature. This is because Adobe Acrobat allows authors to sign PDFs with any x.509 v3 digital certificate; however a PDF document signed with a Certified Document Services (CDS) certificate carry the security assurance of the issuing Certification Authority.

Currently My Credential™ For Adobe is the best CDS available for digitally signing Adobe PDF documents. It has been designed specifically for Adobe PDF documents and is already integrated into and embedded in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, versions 6.0 and higher. Being issued from the Adobe Trusted Root Certificate, certified digital signatures that have been verified by this Root Certificate will only receive the certified signature validation mark.

PDF documents that have been signed with a certified digital signature don’t need to be validated because as soon as they are opened in the Acrobat application, the validity of the certificate is automatically validates and a message displayed to the person viewing the document that the signature and/or contents have been validated.

Additionally, PDF documents that are secured with CDS signing carry the highest level of document integrity and verification because the user or company’s digital credentials are stored on a cryptographic hardware device and have been issued by a WebTrust certified certificate authority under the strictest of guidelines.

Adobe pdf Signing is the ultimate way to secure and validate your Adobe PDF documents. As representatives of a company carrying the Adobe CDS digital signature, the digitally signed PDF documents work to improve the image and standing of your company.

Adobe PDF Signing. Certified Documents Service

Enterprises and business are increasingly using electronic means for information and document sharing. This makes the possibility of leakage or mishandling of information that much more real. Most businesses today use Adobe PDF documents for sharing information electronically because PDF files are considered to be highly secure and hard to tamper with.

However with technology moving in newer directions, it is becoming necessary to find higher security measures even for Adobe PDF documents. Adobe PDF signing through My Credential™ For Adobe is an advanced new technology that is part of these very security requirements.

With My CredentialTM from GeoTrust, Adobe PDF signing (it is already possible to sign documents digitally in Adobe Acrobat) becomes even simpler and much more secure. This technology allows authors to create Adobe PDF documents and sign the same such that they clearly certify to the recipients that the author’s identity has been validated and that the document has not been tampered with.

With Adobe PDF signing organizations can electronically exchange information and documents at a higher level of security. The Adobe Certified Document Signing (CDS) system has been developed jointly by Adobe and GeoTrust for ensuring security and integrity of Adobe PDF documents. It is the first ever implementation of public key document validation technology. As it is pre-embedded into existing Adobe applications, it allows for seamless and easy of Adobe PDF signing.

Adobe PDF CDS stands for Certified Document Signing, a security and verification service designed especially for Adobe PDF documents. It allows the author of a PDF document to digitally sign the document with his/her signature that has been verified and certified by an independent third party.

Businesses and organizations today are increasingly using PDF documents for electronic exchange of data because the format provides high level of security against data loss and interception as well as modification. However modern technology has found several ways to circumvent the security provided by PDF documents.

The need arose for an even more secure method of signing Adobe PDF documents and assuring the identity of the author of the document. Working jointly on this requirement, Adobe and GeoTrust came up with the Adobe PDF Certified Document Signing (CDS) services that allow authors to digitally sign PDF documents with their certified digital signature.

Adobe PDF signing for CDS is so designed that Adobe PDF files created and signed with the service clearly display the signature of the author and identify to the recipient of the document that the author’s identity has been verified by a trusted third party organization. It also helps preserves the integrity of the document by confirming that the document has not been altered in any way.

Adobe PDF digital signature CDS are available for both individuals and departments within an organization and for the organization as a whole. The services for individuals are known as “My Credentials” while those for enterprises/organizations are known as “True Credentials”. Adobe PDF CDS solutions make it easier for organizations to engage in more secure and reliable electronic document exchange.

Types of Digital Signature Services

Individuals as well as businesses can apply for and get benefits from Adobe Certified Document Signing. There are two types of solutions available under the Adobe Certified Document Signing program. The first is the USB token, which is designed for low to moderate volume of Adobe PDF signing. The token gets installed on the verified signing party’s USB computer port and allows the party to digitally sign Adobe PDF documents individually using a secure process.

The other option is the server based solution that is designed for organizations; especially those that require creation of high volumes of documents. This multi-level Adobe PDF signing solution is an optimized application that eliminates the necessity to manually open each PDF files for applying a certified digital signature.

High Level Security

While the facility to digitally sign documents is already available in Adobe Acrobat, certified Adobe PDF signing differs significantly from this. PDF documents signed with a Certified Document Services (CDS) certificate carry the validity and authentication of GeoTrust. Every CDS certificate that is issued for Adobe PDF signing is signed by GeoTrust for Adobe Certificate Authority (CA) that has been issued by the Adobe trusted root.

The CDS certificate is embedded in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, versions 6.0 and higher, and certificates issued from this hierarchy will automatically display the certified signature validation mark when opened in Adobe applications.

This provides the highest levels of security to PDF documents and makes tampering with their content almost impossible. If tampered with, the certified validation mark will disappear from the document and make it invalid. Before the CDS certificate is issued, GeoTrust verifies the identity of the business as well as every individual author that will be using the signature.

Certified Adobe PDF signing is the best way to ensure the security of your PDF documents. You too can get the CDS certificate for your organization’s security requirements;

How does Adobe PDF CDS Work?

If you wish to avail of the Adobe PDF CDS services for your business and created certified documents, you first need to place an order for either My CredentialTM for Adobe or True CredentialsTM for Adobe depending on your business requirements.

On application, you are required to provide identification information which will be verified by GeoTrust. Once your identity has been verified, you will be provided with a digital certificate that you can use to create certified, digitally signed PDF documents using Adobe Acrobat 7+ Standard or Professional versions.

When you send the digitally signed document, recipients using Adobe Reader 6+ versions can automatically validate the certified documents. No additional software or configuration is required for validation. All that the recipients have to do is click on the signature box within the document and the certification status of the document will be displayed along with modifications made, if any.

The recipients can also view additional signature properties such as certificate details, signer’s contact information and validation method. These are the steps you need to follow to get your Adobe PDF CDS services:
Step 1: Apply for and get your identity verified online by GeoTrust. There is a simple but effective verification process that gets completed extremely fast.
Step 2: If you have applied for a USB token, it will be shipped to you once your verification process is successfully completed. You should install the USB token and the related drivers.
Step 3: Once the USB token is installed, you can download your certified digital signature from the GeoTrust web site.
Step 4: The digital signature will be automatically integrated into you Adobe® Acrobat; you can directly start signing your PDF files.

The benefits of getting Adobe PDF CDS for your business are multi-fold. If you do care about the security of electronic information exchange in your business, Adobe PDF CDS is the best method to ensure it.