Deputy Director of the National Electronic Authentication Center Nguyen Thien Nghia informed that there are 18 units nationwide approved to offer the digital signature service.
Lately, Bkav has become one of them, certified by the Ministry of Information and Communication, after meeting all criteria in the evaluation criteria set for policies on management, operation, exploitation and provision of services for remote digital signing. This is the new version of digital signature and can be used widely even on mobile devices with authentication of signers and full support for advanced authentication mechanism like fingerprint and face recognition.
Before this, the Information and Communication Ministry has also approved Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) as a provider of this service. Understanding the high demand of digital signatures and the remote digital signing model, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, where people have to work from home, VNPT has introduced its solution named SmartCA to ensure the safety and convenience of transactions for its clients.
Even after the outbreak is under control, the use of digital signature in online transactions maintains at a high level, as the digitalization speed is greater each day.
Similar to VNPT, MISA JSC is offering its remote digital signing service called eSign with a high security level via the 2-factor authentication mechanism. Its clients can use the digital signature for e-bill issuing, tax and social insurance declaration, customs declaration on their mobile devices.
Formerly, the use of a digital signature depended largely on physical equipment like USB token. However, thanks to advanced technologies, access to a digital signature becomes more flexible via all kinds of smart devices such as smartphones, laptops, or tablets, while still maintaining security, legality.
With so many service providers in Vietnam now, it is advisable to consider the two aspects of service fee and customer service.
To increase competitiveness, qualified agencies normally offer a price much lower than the formal one by the head office, along with various promotions. Nevertheless, to enjoy these advantages, businesses have to pay for extra services like installation or initialization. Therefore, customers need to investigate the total fee they pay and even service renewal fee, not just the basic one.
After-sale customer service like problem handling is also an important matter to consider.
Statistics reveal that the average price offered by leading technology companies such as Viettel, VNPT, FPT, Bkav, CMC is around VND1-1.5 million (approx. US$44-66) per year.
Since digital signatures are becoming increasingly popular in daily life and the foundation for future applications, Deputy Director Nghia hoped that service providers closely collaborate with the Government Cipher Committee, the Public Security Ministry to launch and better managed the digital signature market.
