PAdES
Encyclopedia
For the Romanian commune, see Padeş
.
PAdES (PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures) is a set of restrictions and extensions to PDF and ISO 32000-1 making it suitable for advanced electronic signature
. This is published by ETSI as TS 102 778.
PAdES recognizes that digitally-signed documents may be used or archived for many years – even many decades. At any time in the future, in spite of technological and other advances, it must be possible to validate the document to confirm that the signature was valid at the time it was signed – a concept known as Long-Term Validation (LTV).
The PAdES standard, ETSI Technical Specification (TS) 102 778, introduces a number of adaptations and extensions to PDF to satisfy the Directive's requirements. ETSI will feed these European-specific elements back into ISO for inclusion in the next release of the PDF standard, ISO 32000-2.
PAdES is complementary to two other Electronic Signature concepts also developed by ETSI's ESI committee, both widely recognised within the European Union and suited for applications that do not involve human-readable documents: Cryptographic Message Syntax Advanced Electronic Signatures (CAdES
) and XML Advanced Electronic Signatures (XAdES
).
As with all ETSI standards, the PAdES, CAdES and XAdES standards can be downloaded from the ETSI website ETSI download page.
An electronic signature is a paperless way to sign a document using a unique credential associated with a given person that is logically attached to or associated with the document, carrying an authority equivalent to a handwritten signature. It can be used to authenticate the signer as well as to detect any changes in the document made after it was signed. Electronic signatures are recognized as a catalyst to electronic commerce, notably Internet transactions. Availability of electronic signature techniques has already been a major stimulus to eBusiness and eGovernment.
For PDF documents, the signature data is incorporated directly within the signed PDF document, much as an ink signature becomes an integral part of a paper document, allowing the complete self-contained PDF file to be copied, stored and distributed as a simple electronic file. The signature can also have a visual representation as a form field, just as it might on a paper document. A significant advantage of PAdES is that it is being deployed by means of widely available PDF software: it does not require development or customization of specialized software.
The PAdES standards can be downloaded from the ETSI download page.
Pades
Padeş is a commune in Gorj County, Romania. It is composed of eight villages: Apa Neagră, Călugareni , Cerna-Sat, Cloşani, Motru-Sec, Orzeşti, Padeş and Văieni....
.
PAdES (PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures) is a set of restrictions and extensions to PDF and ISO 32000-1 making it suitable for advanced electronic signature
Electronic signature
An electronic signature, or e-signature, is any electronic means that indicates either that a person adopts the contents of an electronic message, or more broadly that the person who claims to have written a message is the one who wrote it . By comparison, a signature is a stylized script...
. This is published by ETSI as TS 102 778.
Description
While PDF and ISO 32000-1 provide a framework for digitally signing their documents, PAdES specifies precise profiles for use with advanced electronic signature in the meaning of European Union Directive 1999/93/EC. One important benefit from PAdES is that electronically signed documents can remain valid for long periods, even if underlying cryptographic algorithms are broken.PAdES recognizes that digitally-signed documents may be used or archived for many years – even many decades. At any time in the future, in spite of technological and other advances, it must be possible to validate the document to confirm that the signature was valid at the time it was signed – a concept known as Long-Term Validation (LTV).
The PAdES standard, ETSI Technical Specification (TS) 102 778, introduces a number of adaptations and extensions to PDF to satisfy the Directive's requirements. ETSI will feed these European-specific elements back into ISO for inclusion in the next release of the PDF standard, ISO 32000-2.
PAdES is complementary to two other Electronic Signature concepts also developed by ETSI's ESI committee, both widely recognised within the European Union and suited for applications that do not involve human-readable documents: Cryptographic Message Syntax Advanced Electronic Signatures (CAdES
CAdES (computing)
CAdES is a set of extensions to Cryptographic Message Syntax signed data making it suitable for advanced electronic signature.-Description:...
) and XML Advanced Electronic Signatures (XAdES
XAdES
XAdES is a set of extensions to XML-DSig recommendation making it suitable for advanced electronic signature.-Description:...
).
As with all ETSI standards, the PAdES, CAdES and XAdES standards can be downloaded from the ETSI website ETSI download page.
An electronic signature is a paperless way to sign a document using a unique credential associated with a given person that is logically attached to or associated with the document, carrying an authority equivalent to a handwritten signature. It can be used to authenticate the signer as well as to detect any changes in the document made after it was signed. Electronic signatures are recognized as a catalyst to electronic commerce, notably Internet transactions. Availability of electronic signature techniques has already been a major stimulus to eBusiness and eGovernment.
For PDF documents, the signature data is incorporated directly within the signed PDF document, much as an ink signature becomes an integral part of a paper document, allowing the complete self-contained PDF file to be copied, stored and distributed as a simple electronic file. The signature can also have a visual representation as a form field, just as it might on a paper document. A significant advantage of PAdES is that it is being deployed by means of widely available PDF software: it does not require development or customization of specialized software.
PAdES Standard (ETSI TS 102 778)
The PAdES ETSI technical specification contains 5 parts:- Part 1: PAdES Overview – a framework document for PAdES
- Part 2: PAdES Basic – Profile based on ISO 32000-1
- Part 3: PAdES Enhanced – PAdES-Basic Electronic Signatures and PAdES-Explicit Policy Electronic Signatures Profiles
- Part 4: PAdES Long Term – PAdES-Long Term Validation Profile
- Part 5: PAdES for XML Content – Profiles for XAdES signatures of XML content in PDF files
The PAdES standards can be downloaded from the ETSI download page.
See also
- European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)European Telecommunications Standards InstituteThe European Telecommunications Standards Institute is an independent, non-profit, standardization organization in the telecommunications industry in Europe, with worldwide projection...
- CAdESCAdES (computing)CAdES is a set of extensions to Cryptographic Message Syntax signed data making it suitable for advanced electronic signature.-Description:...
, CMS Advanced Electronic Signature - XAdESXAdESXAdES is a set of extensions to XML-DSig recommendation making it suitable for advanced electronic signature.-Description:...
, XML Advanced Electronic Signature - Trusted timestampingTrusted timestampingTrusted timestamping is the process of securelykeeping track of the creation and modification time of a document. Securityhere means that no one — not even the owner of the document — should be able to change it once it has been recorded provided that the timestamper's integrity is never...
External links
- http://webapp.etsi.org/workprogram/Report_WorkItem.asp?WKI_ID=28561 Work Program for ETSI TS 102778 - PAdES
- ISO 32000-1:2008 Document of the PDF Standard at the International Organization for StandardizationInternational Organization for StandardizationThe International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
- PAdES Frequently Asked Questions