Visible Digital Seal
What is Visible Digital Seal (VDS)?
How can you be sure the information you see – whether presented digitally or on a physical item like paper – is real and hasn’t been faked or altered? The Visible Digital Seal (VDS) provides the answer.
VDS is a powerful technology based on open international standards, governed by VDSIC. Think of it like a tamper-proof digital seal that guarantees the authenticity (who it came from) and integrity (that it hasn’t changed) of specific information. This secure digital data is often carried visually using a 2D barcode (like a QR code) printed on documents, but the VDS itself can exist and be verified purely electronically.
Because the digital signature typically comes from the issuing organization’s secure systems (rather than an individual), it’s often referred to as a ‘seal’ to distinguish it from a personal electronic signature.
You might encounter use case of VDS in:
Origins and Development of VDS
The First interoperable implementation of VDS, known as “2D-Doc,” emerged from a practical security need identified by France’s Ministry of the Interior—to secure proof-of-residence documents for passport issuance, increasingly falsified since the arrival of dematerialization.
In response, the French National Agency for Secure Documents (ANTS became “France Titres”) creating the “2D-Doc” solution.Today, the CEV “2D-DOC” is widely used to secure various certificates, in particular EDF contract certificates.
How Does VDS Work?
The VDS combines several key elements, built on open standards, to create verifiable trust:
Secure Data Package (“Seal”)
- At its heart, VDS is a block of digital data containing the specific information being secured (e.g., name, date, document type…).
- It includes essential technical information that verification systems need (like references to the rules it follows and the issuer’s credentials).
- It contains a digital signature – a unique, unforgeable cryptographic seal created by the authorized issuer using their private key. This seal mathematically proves the data hasn’t been tampered with and confirms who issued it.
Manifest File (“Rulebook”)
- Not every VDS use case is the same. The data needed for a health certificate differs from that for product authentication.
- For each type of VDS, there’s a corresponding Manifest file. This acts like a specific, authoritative rulebook or blueprint defined by the relevant governing body.
- The Manifest tells verification systems exactly what information should be inside that type of VDS, the format and constraints it must follow, and any specific validation policies.
- The VDS data itself contains a unique ID pointing to its correct Manifest rulebook.
Trusted Directory (“Trust Lists”)
- How does a verifier know if the organization that issued the VDS was actually allowed to? And where are the rules (Manifest) and credentials found?
- The VDS environment uses Trust Lists (TSLs) – secure, digitally signed directories maintained by allowed organizations within the trust environment.
- These lists allow verifiers to trace Back the issuer’s authority to a recognized source, confirming they are legitimate and authorized. They provide the secure links needed to find the correct Manifests and the issuer’s public key certificate for verification.
Advantages of Implementing VDS
Strong Authentication of data and their origin
provides verifiable proof that the information originated from the legitimate source and matches what was originally issued.
Tamper-Proof Integrity
guarantees the core information has not been altered since the VDS was created.
Issuer Non-Repudiation
provides cryptographic proof that the authorized issuer cannot deny having created the seal containing specific data at a specific time.
Verifiable Timestamps
includes a secure date and time of issuance within the digitally signed data.
Standardized & Open (Interoperability)
based on international standards (ISO 22385, ISO 22376, ETSI TSLs), ensuring VDS can be reliably checked by different systems worldwide.
Enhanced Trust
builds confidence for users and relying parties through a robust, transparent, and secure environment.
Flexibility
adaptable to a wide range of use cases in multiple sector activities.
Offline Verification
possible to verify a VDS without an active internet connection, if the use case corresponding to the VDS has already been verified with the device used (the trust information then being cached).
Beyond Security
More than just a security solution, the VDS significantly enhances operational efficiency by bridging applications and reducing manual data-entry errors. Traditional enrolment, costly and prone to transcription errors, are simplified through automated data reading, verification, and integration enabled by VDS. This leads to:
From securing international travel and public health documents to verifying product origins and streamlining citizen services, VDS provides a normalized and trustworthy solution for the digital age, replacing ambiguity with verifiable certainty.