Physical to Digital: Be Careful What You Hope For

The move to assert digital identities in instances when previously a person (or persons) would need to be present has undoubtedly brought convenience and speed to executing many legal, travel and governmental transactions. ID & Secure Document News™ has previously reported on the benefits that eSignatures can bring in executing contracts – particularly in a world living with COVID (see IDN June 2021). But, as this salutary tale adapted from CRYPTOMATHhIC1 teaches us, convenience sometimes comes at a high price.

On 21 September, the Swiss-based train manufacturer, Stadler, announced that it lost a €3 billion contract with the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB due to a legally impermissible electronic signature on the purchase agreement.

What went wrong?

From a technical point of view the eSignature was not flawed. It was the surrounding legal framework that failed.