The intent of eIDAS is to create technical and legal standards that enhance the security and acceptance of electronic transactions used to conduct business online or to conduct official business across EU member state borders. The use of qualified electronic signatures is one such standard, which requires the use of a Qualified Signature Creation Device (QSCD).

If SMEs are the backbone of an economy, professional service providers are the ones who grease the cogs of that machinery. Notaries, accountants, insurance agents, consultants etc. provide value added services that are indispensable to the operations of a business in the 21st century. We touched upon how eIDAS can be leveraged for professional service providers in a previous article here.

More than a decade ago, Cryptomathic and LuxTrust, then a newly formed trust service provider (TSP), decided to invest in the development of cloud-based electronic signing technology, in anticipation of future demand from Luxembourg’s digital ecosystem. At the time local signing devices, in the form of smart cards and USB tokens, were dominant and the only widely available means of establishing the highest level of electronic signing assurance.