The integration of handwritten electronic signatures to improve workflows and deliver savings is now simple in centralized IT environments thanks to IGEL thin and zero clients and the StepOver signature pads.

 

Reading, UK. 28 May 2014 - IGEL has taken the pain out of integrating handwritten electronic signatures capabilities into centralized IT environments by adding support for StepOver naturaSign signature pads into its latest firmware upgrade. Users of IGEL thin and zero clients will now be able to take advantage of the benefits of electronic signature capture for improved workflow processes. StepOver is the European market leader for handwritten e-signature hardware and software products. Its solutions have a reputation for offering the very highest security and quality.

 

Companies with centralized IT environments can now more easily lower their costs, reduce processing times and prevent data misuse by using electronic signatures. In combination with a centralized IT infrastructure and IGEL thin clients, the use of StepOver signature pads provides the ideal basis for lean processes and convenient system administration. At the same time, quick roll-out ("plug in and go" via USB) and straightforward operation help to ensure high availability.

 

To allow the seamless integration of the naturaSign pads, StepOver has developed a special Linux interface which ensures smooth communication between the signature pad and the thin or zero client. The IGEL thin or zero client then transfers the encrypted data to a central server on which the relevant software application is installed.

 

More secure than on paper
The benefits of a combination of naturaSign pads and IGEL thin clients are particularly obvious when it comes to security. Each naturaSign pad has a unique digital signature certificate (2048 bit RSA Private Key) with which the pad's internal signature generation unit signs the relevant document securely. The certificate also allows the person checking the signed document to match each signature to a specific signature pad. The signature pad's processor even contains a public key of a second key pair (RSA 2048 bit) generated notarially. With the help of this key, any biometric data is encrypted within the pad itself. As a result, this extremely sensitive data will never be found in decrypted form in the insecure computer environment. The fact that IGEL clients do not allow local data storage further minimizes the risk.

 

StepOver naturaSign pads are supported by all IGEL Universal Desktop thin clients with IGEL Linux (LX) as well as the IZ2 and IZ3 zero client ranges. As usual, the driver is part of the latest IGEL Linux firmware update - Version 5.3.100 - which is now available for downloading free of charge at www.myigel.biz.