Guest blog by Kusal Munasinghe and Kushan Edirisooriya at ZorroSign, Inc.

Web3 has become a trending term in the technology space in recent years, and the excitement surrounding Web3 has led to many attempts of development, investment, and experimentation. In this article we will explore how the recent integration done by ZorroSign with Provenance Blockchain advances key Web3 concepts.

What is Centralization, Decentralization and Distribution?

In an era defined by technological innovation and the ever-expanding reach of the internet, the architecture of systems and networks has undergone a profound transformation. At the heart of this evolution lies the age-old debate surrounding centralization versus decentralization. As organizations and individuals grapple with the complex interplay of these paradigms, it becomes essential to navigate this spectrum effectively. The following paragraphs aim to unravel the intricacies of distributed, centralized, and decentralized systems, offering a comprehensive understanding of their characteristics, advantages, and challenges.

Centralization
With centralized computing systems, all the processes, data storage, and validation are managed by a single and axial party. This sole party has all administrative power and access which makes it vulnerable as a single point of failure.

Decentralization
Decentralization in computing refers to a design, or architectural approach, where computing resources, control, and decision-making are distributed across multiple nodes or devices rather than being concentrated in a single central authority or location. This approach has gained prominence in various areas of computing due to its potential benefits, which include increased scalability, fault tolerance, security, and user empowerment.

Decentralized network is a network configuration where there are multiple authorities serving as a centralized hub for participants. In the computing world, a decentralized network architecture distributes workloads among several machines instead of relying on a single central server.

Distribution
In contrast, a distributed computing system is a network of interconnected computers or nodes that work together to perform tasks and solve problems. Here, there is no sole administrator, as these systems are designed to distribute computational and processing workloads across multiple machines, rather than relying on a single central computer.

In distribution models, every participant can communicate with one another without going through a centralized point. Since there are multiple pathways for communication, the loss of any participant will not prevent communication. Distributed computer systems are used to harness the collective computing power of multiple machines to solve complex problems, improve performance, and enhance reliability. They play a critical role in modern computing, particularly in cloud computing environments and large-scale data processing applications.

What are Peer-to-Peer Networks?

A peer-to-peer (P2P) network is a decentralized computer network where participants, known as peers, communicate and share resources directly with one another without the need for a centralized server or authority.

In a P2P network, every connected device can both request and provide services or resources, creating a distributed and collaborative network architecture. Some of the key characteristics and components of a peer-to-peer network are Decentralization, Symmetry, Resource Sharing, Privacy, and Anonymity.

Where Does Blockchain Fit?

Traditional data and document storage mechanisms are vulnerable to data manipulation and attacks because of centralization, limited transparency, and reliance on traditional security measures.

Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized digital ledger technology used to record transactions across multiple computers or nodes. It was originally created as the underlying technology for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but its applications have since expanded far beyond digital currencies.

Blockchain technology has the potential to significantly impact democracy by enhancing transparency, accountability, and trust in democratic processes. Through its immutable and decentralized nature, blockchain can ensure that data and transactions are securely recorded and tamper-proof, addressing concerns of election fraud and manipulation. Data is more trustworthy in blockchain compared to traditional databases and other storages. Blockchain written data is immutable, hard to tamper and trusted.

Blockchain and Web3

Before we dive into Web3, a quick history review to understand what technologies preceded Web3.

Web1 was dedicated to users searching for data. This web version is sometimes called “the read-only Web”, for example reading a newspaper from the web. Web1 was made up of a small number of people generating content for a larger audience and was the first step of the big journey.

Today’s Web2 has many people creating even more content for a growing audience. Web1 focused on reading, but Web2 focused on participating and contributing such as content publishing in social media. The big tech companies of 2023 are Web2 leaders.

Finally to Web3. Web3 is an approach poised to redefine the way we interact with digital technologies and the internet itself. Unlike its predecessors—which primarily focused on delivering information and facilitating user interactions through centralized platforms—Web3 introduces a decentralized, trustless, and user-centric model that empowers individuals to take control of their online experiences and data.

Key areas in Web3 are blockchain technology, decentralized networks, and cryptographic principles to create a more open, transparent, and secure digital ecosystem. It enables peer-to-peer interactions, facilitates autonomous smart contracts, and ensures data ownership and privacy, all without the need for intermediaries or centralized authorities.

Blockchain uses consensus mechanisms to verify and validate new blocks to the network. Therefore, only genuine and verified transactions are stored inside the block. Provenance Blockchain, for example, uses proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms and that will ensure the trust and security of blockchain.

(Proof-of-stake or PoS was created as an alternative to proof-of-work or PoW, the original consensus mechanism used to validate transactions and mine new blocks on Bitcoin. PoW requires “miners”—individual computers—to solve cryptographic puzzles, while PoS requires “validators” to own and stake tokens for the privilege of earning transaction fees. Such validators verify transactions, vote on outcomes, and maintain records to ensure non-repudiation.)

Non-repudiation is a feature that comes with blockchain that refers to the assurance that a party in a communication or transaction cannot deny the authenticity or integrity of a message, action, or agreement that they have previously taken. In essence, it ensures that once a party has sent a message, performed an action, or agreed to a contract, they cannot later claim that they did not do so.

The goal of Web3 is to allow users to regain sovereignty over their data, participate in decentralized governance, and explore innovative ways to collaborate, transact, and communicate on the internet. As Web3 continues to evolve and mature, it has the potential to reshape industries and empower individuals.

In short, Web3 is the decentralized version of the internet and blockchain technologies are key to enabling technology for Web3.

The Advance of ZorroSign’s Integration with Provenance Blockchain

Provenance Blockchain is a groundbreaking technology that has revolutionized the way we track and verify the origins and ownership of assets in various industries. Provenance Blockchain is specifically designed to provide a transparent and immutable record of the history of physical and digital assets, including products, documents, and more.

Purpose-built for the financial services and insurance industry, Provenance Blockchain is routinely the blockchain of choice for tokenization with over $8 billion in real-world financial asset total value locked (TVL). The platform has played a key role in several financial services firsts, including the first blockchain-native consumer loans, first asset-backed securitization on blockchain, and the first bank-minted tokenized deposits in the United States. Provenance Blockchain is leveraged by more than 70 leading financial institutions including Apollo Global Management, Hamilton Lane, Guaranteed Rate, and innovative fintechs.

The primary objective of integrating ZorroSign with Provenance blockchain is to enhance the transparency, and authenticity of document transactions. Immutable document Integrity is achieved as Provenance Blockchain record document hash of the final document and produce a unique transaction hash. This ensures that the document is tamper-proof as Provenance’s transaction hash can be publicly viewed and verified for its authenticity.

The goal of integrating ZorroSign with Provenance Blockchain is to create a more secure, transparent, and efficient environment for handling and storing documents while ensuring superior data integrity and authenticity. Compared to other document signing platforms which rely on traditional storages, ZorroSign offers clear advantages when it comes to trust & security because of its innovative use of Blockchain technology.

What Does This Integration Mean for Web3?

By offering a tamper-proof and decentralized ledger, Provenance Blockchain enhances trust, reduces fraud, and improves accountability, opening doors for a new level of transparency and integrity in asset management and ownership verification. Being a public blockchain, Provenance Blockchain provides the extra advantage of having the transaction link where verification is possible without relying on a user account or login into a system. This is a key value proposition of Web3.

Where Do We Go from Here?

With today’s integration, ZorroSign has embarked on a journey that could bring out best in both ZorroSign and Provenance Blockchain for our users. Two specific goals moving forward:

• The ZorroSign development team is assessing the replacement of the global B2B wallet used for Provenance Blockchain transactions with individual user’s specific wallets. This would be a revolutionary step as it will achieve true data democracy: Making sure that each user who signs the document will have his/her ownership of the transaction, and therefore the ownership of the document. This level of integration will not be as easy, as it must resolve many technical and business flow challenges as a significant split from the familiar Web2 model. Research for this Web3 wallet individualization is already under way.
• The ZorroSign development team aspires to also run the entire document-signing flow based on data contracts in Provenance Blockchain, and so even store the documents themselves in blockchain nodes. Such storage would deliver the highest security, integrity, authenticity for documents and give the full ownership of the document to the signed wallet owner.

Both of these future developments are in progress. ZorroSign’s dreams for Provenance Blockchain may shape the very future of Web3 and we are thrilled to share each step of the way!

ZorroSign is proud to support sustainability projects around the world. In a recent effort, we are actively participating in the visionary program from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE), whose “National Carbon Sequestration Project” will plant 100 million mangroves by 2030 across the country.

“The project is part of the strategic directions of the UAE to increase reliance on nature-based solutions in facing environmental challenges, and to enhance efforts to capture carbon dioxide to mitigate the effects of climate change and enhance adaptation capabilities,” reports Gulf News. “Mangroves can absorb and capture carbon up to four to five times greater than wild tropical rain forests, in addition to being a safe natural habitat for marine biodiversity, as 80 per cent of global fish populations depend on healthy mangrove ecosystems.”

ZorroSign is not only planting mangrove trees with the paper saved through our Save a Tree Plant a Tree program, but CEO and co-founder, Shamsh Hadi, is with his family personally planting mangroves as part of the National Carbon Sequestration Project.

“We planted 40 mangroves this weekend,” said Hadi. “It was a wonderful experience for my family, as they got to participate first-hand in this important ecological effort. We have long supported the Ismaili CIVIC Mangrove Forest project, managed by Ismaili CIVIC UAE with Major Ali Saqr Sultan Al Suweidi, founder of the Emirates Marine Environmental Group, and love seeing directly how our personal contributions can support our community.”

“Tropical mangrove forests are complex ecosystems anchored around mangrove trees that thrive in inhospitable hot, muddy and salty conditions,” adds a recent Reuters report. “They protect coastal communities against storms and floods, host diverse and threatened species and can soften climate change by capturing atmospheric carbon.”

“The UAE’s National Carbon Sequestration Project roadmap includes four activities: Evaluating mangrove planting sites, producing mangrove seeds and seedlings, a programme for planting seeds and seedlings in selected sites, and monitoring and following up on planted mangroves and the levels of carbon that will be captured,” notes Gulf News. “To enhance efforts towards achieving this ambitious goal by 2030, MoCCAE said it is working with its partners within an integrated system to implement project activities through cooperation with government and private sector institutions and international non-governmental organisations.”

Beyond the mangrove planting, ZorroSign champions sustainability efforts in partnership with One Tree Planted, the United Nations’ Plant for the Planet, and the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) hosted in Dubai, UAE this November 2023. 

To learn more about ZorroSign advancing technology while advancing sustainability, visit our Sustainability page for details!

ZorroSign Announces Growth Partnership
with Vision Tech Solutions

Strategic Reseller Partnership Brings ZorroSign’s Data Security Platform to New Markets

PHOENIX, ARIZONA, September 26, 2023 / EIN Presswire / — ZorroSign, Inc., a global leader in data security solutions built on blockchain, today announced a strategic partnership with Vision Tech Solutions in the United Arab Emirates. This partnership will unite ZorroSign’s data security platform and blockchain technologies with Vision Tech Solution’s IT infrastructure and services across the Gulf region. Initially as a reseller, Vision Tech Solutions will bring ZorroSign to new companies and new markets as the partnership deepens with integrated capabilities and technology alignment.

“We are thrilled to partner with Rajab and his team at Vision Tech,” said Shamsh Hadi, CEO and co-founder of ZorroSign. “Their customer service focus and top quality IT services map well to ZorroSign’s values and data security strengths. We are eager to see what our combined technology solutions can achieve for companies in the UAE, the larger Middle East and North Africa region, and later into Europe.”

ZorroSign was founded with a commitment to advancing technology while advancing sustainability, and ZorroSign’s goal is to help customers adopt sustainable practices and securely transform paper-based workflows into digital workflows. This conscientious approach to operations helps to decrease costs, lower resource consumption, reduce data errors, and increase productivity. Businesses, educational institutions, financial organisations, governments, IT firms, legal service providers, real estate companies, and others use ZorroSign to privately and securely manage their digital transactions.

“Vision Tech aspires to be a global leader in Information Technology, driving technological advancements and delivering sustainable solutions that improve the lives of people around the world,” added Rajab Virani, CEO at Vision Tech Solutions. “ZorroSign is an ideal technology partner for us—not only bringing a practical, scalable blockchain solution to data security and digital signatures, but doing so with an overarching commitment to sustainability.”

ZorroSign today has an extensive customer base for its data security and digital signature solutions built on blockchain in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, India, Sri Lanka, the United States, and Canada. The technology company is aggressively expanding into European markets next and seeking new strategic alliances across the EU and UK in 2023.

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About Vision Tech Solutions

Vision Tech Solutions DMCC specializes in providing companies with bespoke IT technical services, consultancies, infrastructure, and support. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, Vision Tech Solutions unites a qualified and experienced technical and management team, whose collective experience in the IT industry spans several decades, to deliver the most proper technical applications for transformation to blockchain technologies with emphasis on the economic return. A strong research and development team working on futuristic technologies contribute to the company’s success in providing leading-edge technologies to its clients. To learn more visit visiontechsolutions.com

About ZorroSign

ZorroSign, Inc. uses blockchain for superior data privacy and security. Governments, businesses, organisations and individuals around the world trust ZorroSign to safeguard their digital documents and to provide an immutable chain of custody for their digital transactions. The company’s data security platform integrates multiple blockchains (Hyperledger Fabric and Provenance Blockchain), digital signatures, automated compliance, AI/ML form completion, document storage, patented fraud detection, user authentication and document verification, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), and so much more. When the risk is personal and everything is on the line, Block It Down! To learn more visit zorrosign.com

Media Contacts

Rajab Ali Virani

Vision Tech Solutions DMCC

[email protected]

Michael Jones

ZorroSign, Inc.

[email protected]

ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain serves customers around the world and across dozens of industries!

We are pleased to share customer case studies that showcase how ZorroSign’s platform is used by businesses in banking and finance, healthcare, professional services, real estate, and many others.

For some quick examples, download our case study on an international healthcare organization providing clinically actionable medical informatics . . .

Or our case study on McKinley Consulting Group using ZorroSign for digital signatures and workflow automation . . .

Or our case study on a US clinical research company that validates cosmetics and skin care manufacturer claims from around the world . . .

Or our case study on how a title company uses ZorroSign as an electronic escrow solution to safely and securely execute real estate transactions . . .

Let us know what additional industries you might like covered in case studies, or visit our growing list of real-world customer deployments at Case Studies.

Passwordless login capabilities provide a secure and convenient way for companies to authenticate users and can play an important role in your security stack by minimizing the human risk-factor.

One of the main benefits of passwordless authentication is that it eliminates the need for users to remember and manage multiple passwords.  With users no longer needing to recall their passwords—and also then unable to share their passwords—the risk of password-related security breaches, such as phishing and brute force attacks, plus password reuse is significantly reduced.

Another key benefit of passwordless login is that it provides a more seamless and user-friendly experience.  With passwordless login, users can authenticate themselves with a variety of methods such as biometric authentication, one-time passcodes sent via SMS, or a security key.  This facilitates user adoption and reduces the risk of users circumventing security measures.

Passwordless login also provides a way to secure remote transactions, as users can authenticate themselves without the need to be physically present at a location.  This is particularly useful in today’s digital world where remote work and online transactions are becoming more and more prevalent.

Moreover, passwordless login capabilities can also be integrated with multi-factor authentication (MFA) to provide an additional layer of security.  MFA can help to protect against identity theft and other cyber threats by requiring users to provide multiple forms of authentication—critically important for companies that handle sensitive data or operate in regulated industries.

By incorporating passwordless login capabilities into your security stack, you can improve your security posture and reduce costs.  Passwordless authentication:

• Eliminates the need for users to remember and manage multiple passwords,
• Provides a more seamless and user-friendly experience,
• Secures remote transactions, and
• Can be integrated with multi-factor authentication.

Organizations that adopt passwordless login capabilities better secure your digital assets, improve user adoption, and reduce the risk of security breaches. Read our latest eBook for further details and to learn how ZorroSign delivers blockchain, digital signatures, identity-as-a-service, and passwordless authentication for your security stack!

ZorroSign updated our user experience last year, making it even easier for you to Z-Sign agreements, execute transactions, and manage digital documents on blockchain.

From your iPhone or computer, ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain facilitates quick, secure digital signatures . . . plus AI/ML form fill, identity-as-a-service to ensure user authentication, blockchain technology for privacy, security, and document verification, patented fraud prevention, and so much more!

To showcase our new user experience, we’re producing video “shorts” to show actual ZorroSign users signing agreements, building approval workflows, and managing digital documents anywhere, any time.  For example:

• See Connor sign a document on his iPhone while walking between offices
• See Matt sign a document on his iPhone before teeing-off on a golf course
• See Connor sign a document on his laptop while relaxing outside

Further, we have great testimonials on our YouTube channel here.

And you can view our growing library of How-To videos showcasing basic ZorroSign functionality, including Z-Sign, here.

Sign up for a 14-day Free Trial (no credit card required) to put us to the test, or contact us if you’d like to see any other videos on ZorroSign, Z-Sign, or our other key features. 

When security is mission-critical, Block It Down!

It has long been claimed that blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the way companies approach security.  By leveraging the decentralized and immutable nature of blockchain, companies can enhance your security stack and protect against a wide range of threats.

One of the main benefits of blockchain technology is its ability to provide secure and tamper-proof record keeping.  The decentralized nature of blockchains ensures that there is no single point of failure—which also means that hackers cannot easily compromise the system.  Additionally, the use of cryptography and consensus mechanisms ensures that once data is recorded on the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to alter or delete.

Another security benefit of blockchain technology is its ability to provide secure and transparent transactions.  By using smart contracts, companies can automate and streamline processes, while also ensuring that all transactions are recorded in a transparent and immutable manner.  This can help to reduce the risk of fraud and increase trust between parties.

Blockchain technology can also be used to improve supply chain management.  By using blockchain, your organization can track products and goods as they move through supply chains—providing real-time visibility into the status and location of products.  This can help to improve efficiency, reduce costs, reduce fraud, and increase transparency.

Moreover, blockchain technologies such as Hyperledger Fabric (private, permissioned) and Provenance Blockchain (public, permissionless) can be used to enhance cybersecurity by providing encrypted and immutable identity management.  Blockchain-based identity and access management (IAM) systems provide secure and decentralized storage of identity data, making it more difficult for hackers to steal or compromise sensitive information.

By incorporating blockchain technology into your security stack, companies can enhance your security posture and protect against a wide range of threats.  Blockchains provide:

• Secure and tamper-proof record keeping,
• Secure and transparent transactions,
• Improved supply chain management, and
• Enhanced identity management.

Together, these make blockchain technology an attractive option for companies looking to improve your security. And organizations that leverage blockchain technology to improve your security will be strongly-positioned to succeed in the years ahead!

To read more about the growing risks to digital data in 2023—and learn how adding blockchain technologies to your security stack can combat those risks—download our eBook today or contact us to start a discussion!

The ever-growing amount of digital data and the increasing complexity of cyber threats have made data security more important than ever before.  In 2023, companies must take steps to elevate your data security to protect both your own information and that of your customers.

One of the main risks to digital data today is the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks.  Hackers are using more advanced techniques to bypass traditional security measures—such as using machine learning to evade detection and launching targeted phishing and spear-phishing attacks against specific organizations.  Companies must be prepared to defend against these types of attacks by implementing advanced security measures, such as artificial intelligence-based security solutions, and regularly updating and patching your systems.

Another risk to digital data in 2023 is the growing number of connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT).  As more devices are connected to the internet, the attack surface for hackers becomes larger, making it easier for them to gain access to sensitive information.  Companies must take steps to secure your IoT devices and to ensure that those devices are not used as a means to gain access to other systems.

Further, the use of cloud services and the increasing amount of data that is stored in the cloud has also increased the risk of data breaches.  Companies must ensure that your cloud services are properly configured and that you are using a reputable provider with a strong track record of security.  Companies also need to implement strong access controls and encryption to protect data stored in the cloud.

Protecting data against the growing risks in 2023 requires a multi-layered approach that includes regular updates and patching, securing IoT devices, properly configuring cloud services, adopting advanced security measures such as:

• Blockchain technologies for tamper-proof record keeping with no single point of failure
• Digital signature technologies to authenticate and authorize remote transactions
• Identity-as-a-Service solutions for scalable identity and access management (IAM)
• Passwordless authentication to reduce the human risk in security systems

Organizations that fail to take these steps will be at a higher risk of data breaches and will be more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

It is important to remember that data security is not only important to protect your company’s information but also to protect the personal data of your customers and employees.

To read more about the growing risks to digital data in 2023—and learn how adding blockchain, digital signature, IDaaS, and passwordless authentication technologies to your security stack can combat those risks—download our eBook today or contact us to start a discussion!

Though still an emerging technology in the healthcare industry, blockchains have the potential to transform the U.S. (and global) healthcare industry.

By providing a secure, transparent, and efficient way to store and share information (such as patient healthcare records, prescriptions, diagnostic data across providers, etc.), blockchains are making it possible to improve patient care, reduce costs, and streamline administrative processes. Let’s look at how the healthcare industry is already using blockchain technologies . . .

Blockchain Applications Today

• Electronic health record (EHR) management — blockchains can be used to securely store and share patient health and medical records—where electronic medical records, or EMRs, are “a patient’s medical history that is maintained electronically by a single provider,” explains Forbes, while EHRs represent a “patient’s medical history that is maintained electronically by multiple providers.” This application of blockchains can improve patient care by making it easier for doctors and other healthcare providers to access the information they need to make informed decisions. And blockchain technologies can also help to reduce costs by eliminating the need for duplicate records.
• Clinical trials — here, blockchains can be used to manage clinical trials more efficiently, as by storing clinical data on a blockchain, researchers can track patient progress and outcomes in real time. This can help to improve the efficiency of trials and speed up the development of new treatments. “Blockchain may offer a solution to more easily aggregate health data in a secure, trusted, automated, and error-free way,” notes Deloitte. “A solution which enforces rules, privacy, and regulations in a mutually agreed upon manner, resulting in a smart contract between patient and health care stakeholders can be an important enabler to clinical trials and research.”
• Supply chain management — blockchains can be used to better track the movement of medical supplies and medications with the technologies immutable and transparent recordkeeping. This can help to ensure the safety and quality of these products, and it can also reduce fraud. “Currently, most medical and pharmaceutical supply chains are facing significant logistical challenges, including a lack of real-time visibility into shipment locations, uncertainty transportation disruptions, product quality tracking and verification, cross-border customs reporting across borders, and complicated invoicing and payments,” write Jayendra S. Jadhav and Jyoti Deshmukh in a ScienceDirect article. “A blockchain-based supply chain, on the other hand, could track every step for every item immutably, transparently, and efficiently.”
• Payment processing — blockchains can be used to process payments for healthcare services (patient and insurers), helping to reduce costs and improve efficiency. For example, “Insurers can now work with digital transformation platforms to design and develop blockchain technologies to target specific needs instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach,” says Julien Breteau in recent The Digital Insurer article.
• Healthcare research — blockchain data storage and sharing can be readily used to manage the data from healthcare research studies. This use helps to accelerate the pace of research and improve the development of new treatments. “The growing digitization of medical care has advanced the acknowledgment of issues about secure storage, accessing of patients’ medical records, ownership, and medical data from associated sources,” explains a recent National Library of Medicine article. “Blockchain is recommended as a method of addressing critical issues faced by healthcare, for instance, protected sharing of health records and adherence to data privacy laws.”

Universal Blockchain Benefits

As blockchain technologies are tailored to healthcare, the universal benefits of this distributed ledger architecture include stronger security (as data is encrypted and distributed across multiple nodes), greater transparency (as transactions recorded on public blockchains where any node can view them), greater efficiency (automating manual data entry and record keeping processes), and more opportunities for interoperability (as blockchains can connect different healthcare systems and organizations).

ZorroSign for Healthcare

And at ZorroSign, our secure, HIPAA-compliant data security platform built in blockchain supports healthcare organizations with digital records, digital signatures, and document workflows. Our platform ensures:

• Legal enforceability — reducing insurance fraud with digital signatures that are legally binding, tied to the actual person (signatory attribution), and immutable with court-admissible security certificates that never expire
• Digital privacy and security — a platform built on blockchain with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to eliminate the errors of manual processes and transcription with full Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) compliance
• Cost-savings — through automating patient, diagnostic, insurance, payment, and recordkeeping workflows and digitizing paper applications, forms, and records
• Improved patient services — digitizing your office operations to quickly execute, store, track, and retrieve:
  • Claims management, payments, and prior authorization
  • Facilities management
  • Human resources processes
  • Logistics and procurement
  • Patient sign-in and consent
  • Power of Attorney and Proxy Agreements
  • Prescription approval routing

Healthcare providers know the value of serving more patients with the same staff, plus saving costs with digital technologies that help meet regulatory compliance while reducing paper, printing, and storage expenses.

Blockchain technologies are helping meet those needs in healthcare and expanding the patient services healthcare providers can deliver. To learn more, visit our Healthcare industry page or contact ZorroSign today!

Between Earth Day on April 22^nd and Arbor Day on April 28^th, ZorroSign pauses to reflect on our sustainability efforts and how we support the conservation goals behind these two key days of environmental awareness.

ZorroSign, Inc. is the first company in the world to bring blockchain technologies to digital signatures—elevating the data privacy and security of digital transactions. We are proud of this effort, as it helps people around the globe to transform the way they secure their digital data and to escape paper-based operations. By leveraging blockchain technologies for a lifetime of privacy and security with digital signatures, identities, and documents, our technology drives a “Paperless Life” for businesses, governments, and organizations:  Creating, reviewing, approving, executing, and storing digital contracts and documents on immutable blockchains instead of paper.

Further, with our Save a Tree/Plant a Tree program, ZorroSign plants a tree on behalf of our customers every time they save 8,000 pages of copy paper! One tree produces roughly 8,000 pages of copy paper and studies show that by eliminating or reducing the use of paper, we can realize significant environmental benefits such as conserving water, reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality, and slowing deforestation.

2022 saw ZorroSign complete significant creative upgrades to its SaaS platform to speed organizations’ move to sustainable digital operations:  First deploying a more scalable microservices and containers architecture in response to aggressive growth, second evolving to a multi-chain platform for further adaptability, and third updating the entire user experience with a new user interface and workflow.  These enhancements allow ZorroSign to deliver the best user experience in digital signatures and so accelerate digital operations that minimize paper consumption.

ZorroSign is the only company in the world that offers a multi-blockchain platform to secure, track, and manage digital signatures, transactions, and documentation. By using such distributed ledger technologies—built initially on a Hyperledger Fabric and recently expanded to include the Provenance Blockchain—ZorroSign’s architecture provides structural layers of protection from ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks: Foremost, by decentralizing the data set, preventing any breach from accessing the entire data set, and further by giving endpoints (or nodes) a quick path to recovery, even if they are breached or their access is ransomed. 

And ZorroSign CEO and co-founder, Shamsh Hadi, has taken the Digital City Vision for Smart Dubai launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as a guiding principle for ZorroSign—continuing that effort to advance technology while also advancing sustainability. You can find Mr. Hadi’s op-ed piece on the need for new technology to also support sustainability on LinkedIn . . . as well as his recent article on how web3 technologies can advance sustainability.

ZorroSign’s innovations in sustainability have been recognized by visionary clients around the world! To learn more, visit our sustainability page or contact us to start a free 14 day trial today.

The global ZorroSign teams gathered the past two weeks for a series of strategic meetings to kick-off Q2-2023!

First, the US team visited Colombo, Sri Lanka for three days of fellowship and planning with the development team…

We participated in a leadership and communications seminar presented by Murtaza Esufally and Anushka Fernando-Goonetilleke from Learn 4 Life Lanka

Celebrated new roles and responsibilities at a joyful team dinner at the Galle Face Hotel…

Aligned development, sales, and marketing deliverables in light of the very exciting strategic customers and partnerships we have coming onboard in Q2…

And toured some of the amazing beaches, restaurants, shops, and temples of Sri Lanka!

Then the US team visited Dubai, UAE to meet with the operations team for planning and alignment…

Synchronized our financial, human resources, and marketing targets…

Met with our communications partners at Cicero & Bernay…

And enjoyed the beautiful sights of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates!

To learn more about ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain, our sustainability efforts, and how we can elevate your organization’s privacy and security, contact us or start a free 14 day trial! 

When security is mission-critical, your business needs secure digital signatures, transactions, and documentation—block it down!

Adding to ZorroSign’s long list of privacy and security compliance certifications, we are proud to announce our data security platform built on blockchain has recently been certified as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant!

Specifically, through our “policies, procedures, and technical systems that store, process and/or transmit cardholder data, Zorrosign has performed the required procedures to validate compliance with the PCI DSS, the best practices designed to protect merchants and consumers from data security breaches and fraud.”  Find our certification here.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has set data security standards, notes Signature Payments: “Any merchant or payment processor whose systems need to handle credit card details must comply with PCI standards. PCI compliance is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) that companies that process, store, or transmit credit card information must adhere to. The PCI DSS was designed by credit card companies (Visa, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and JCB) to help protect cardholders from fraud and data breaches.”

This certification reflects ZorroSign’s ongoing commitment to data privacy and security. Paired with our digital signatures, document management, workflow and compliance automation, and identity-as-a-service capabilities, PCI DSS compliance is the latest in a global list of security benchmarks we are excited to advance. To learn more, contact us or put us to the test with Free Trial today!

ZorroSign is proud to be a sponsor of this year’s Game of Codes at the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka!

Game of Codes is a program idea initiated by the IEEE WIE Affinity Group of the University of Kelaniya as an inter-university game development competition. The main goal of this event is to uplift the knowledge of game development among undergraduates, especially girls.

The Game of Codes brings together beginners and participants who have intermediate knowledge of game development across the country into one platform filled with competitiveness and enjoyment. Participants are given basic game development knowledge through two workshops conducted by industry experts. The event consists of two phases, two-day workshops and the competition called Battle of Coders:

• Workshops – The participants will be guided to develop a game with basic functionalities.
• Battle of Coders Competition – Teams will be given the opportunity to take part in a 24-hour competition. The teams should come up with a game according to the given criteria.

The final submissions of the game is evaluated by a panel of judges in the relevant domains, and the best three teams are rewarded in appreciation of their talents.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) describes itself as “the world’s largest technical professional society – promoting the development and application of electrotechnology and allied sciences for the benefit of humanity, the advancement of the profession, and the wellbeing of our members.” The society took the lead in organizing activities such as awareness sessions and technology workshops.

IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE), an affinity group of IEEE, is the largest international professional organization dedicated to promoting women engineers and scientists. It plays a vital role in inspiring girls worldwide to follow their academic interests to a career in engineering. The mission of IEEE WIE is to facilitate the global recruitment and retention of women in technical disciplines. IEEE WIE envisions a vibrant community of IEEE women and men collectively using their diverse talents to innovate for the benefit of humanity.

IEEE Women In Engineering (WIE) Student Branch Affinity Group of the University of Kelaniya focuses on working with Women Engineers to increase the interest, awareness, and involvement of technical disciplines. We aim to encourage and inspire young females to do something more than what they are doing and becoming.

ZorroSign is grateful to help sponsor this exciting event and supports all of the IEEE engineers as they lift women up to innovate for the benefit of humanity.

Contract lifecycle management (CLM), at the most basic description, is the process of managing the creation, execution, and administration of contracts. CLM involves a wide range of activities, including drafting and negotiating contracts, storing and managing contract documents, and tracking and managing contract performance.

“In any typical workday, week, quarter, and fiscal year, the average Fortune 1000 company may handle several tens of thousands of contracts,” notes JD Supra. “Each contract will need to be negotiated, reviewed, and executed. Then, when that part of the process is complete, with signatures on the proverbial dotted lines, the lifecycle management of that contract begins, including monitoring for regulatory compliance and “re”-review at renewal time. This very real scenario commands at least half, and as much as 70%, of legal professionals’ time.”

At ZorroSign, we believe blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize contract lifecycle management in three key ways:

• By providing a secure, decentralized database, blockchain technology can enable faster, more efficient, and more secure contract management for legal professionals;
• Blockchain can also help to reduce the risk of fraud and errors; and,
• Blockchain can provide a more transparent and auditable record of all contract-related activities for regulatory compliance and renewals.

One of the most well-known applications of blockchain technology in CLM is in the realm of smart contracts. A smart contract is a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code. The code—and the agreement it represents—are stored on the blockchain, which makes them secure, transparent, and auditable. Smart contracts have the potential to streamline a wide range of contract-related activities, including contract drafting, negotiation, and execution.

Another area where blockchain technology can complement contract lifecycle management is in the storage and management of contract documents. Traditional methods of storing and managing contract documents can be slow and prone to errors, but blockchain technology has the potential to make the process faster, cheaper, and more secure. By using a decentralized database to store contract documents, blockchain technology can enable faster, more accurate, and more secure access to these documents.

“Blockchain provides a trusted, independent, and cost-efficient mechanism for multiparty transactional records management,” writes Cecil (CJ) John for Medium. “Blockchain is an essential technology for records management professionals to understand because it has broad implications for securing and authenticating intellectual property at lower cost and higher efficiency.”

Blockchain technology is also being used to facilitate the tracking and management of contract performance. Traditional methods of tracking and managing contract performance can be time-consuming and error-prone, but blockchain technology has the potential to make the process faster, cheaper, and more efficient. By using a decentralized database to store information about contract performance, blockchain technology can enable faster, more accurate, and more secure contract management.

In addition to these benefits, blockchain technology can also help to improve the transparency and accountability of contract lifecycle management. By providing a tamper-proof record of all contract-related activities, blockchain technology can help to ensure that all parties are held accountable for their actions. This can be especially important in complex, multi-party contracts, where it can be difficult to track and manage all of the different activities and obligations.

“The technology generates a systematic, untampered audit trail of the history of any action taking place in a document, which can be viewed in a history tree, providing a more superior history and audit trail than anything else that currently exists,” explains Accenture. “The digitization of paper-based contracts onto the blockchain holds the potential to revolutionize the way contracts are prepared, transacted, amended, stored and complied with.”

ZorroSign is proud to bring both the private, permissioned Hyperledger Fabric blockchain and the public, permissionless Provenance Blockchain to CLM!  Our data security platform was built on blockchain, delivering digital signatures, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), patented fraud detection, user authentication, document validation, and document management all based on blockchain technologies. 

To learn more, read our Platform details, how Legal Departments use ZorroSign, or contact us to start a free 14 day trial. When the security of your contract data is on the line, block it down!

We are proud to finish 2022 strong by sharing our completely redesigned user experience for ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain!

On the back-end, we’ve updated to an elaborate microservices and containers architecture—allowing our platform to scale quickly while enhancing our development team’s productivity, autonomy, and efficiency. We’re also deploying on Provenance Blockchain for select organizations and continually enhancing our privacy, security, and compliance capabilities.

On the front-end, you will quickly see the simplicity of our user interface—delivering what we believe to be the best user experience for digital signatures!

For a quick introduction to our new look, new features, and new benefits, watch this short overview from our U.S. operations team:

And for an expanding overview of key functionality, visit our YouTube channel to watch helpful videos on creating an account, creating E-Sign documents, using platform tools, digitally signing documents, and so much more!

We are thrilled to share our updated platform with you . . .

• If you are an existing ZorroSign user, login and see what’s new!
• And if you’ve never tried ZorroSign before, sign up for a 14-day Free Trial today—no credit card needed to start!

Remember: When your data privacy and security are on the line, Block It Down!

Every November 30th, the United States observes National Computer Security Day. This year, we’d like to share some details on the history of this security awareness, how ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain contributes to computer security, and how you can observe National Computer Security Day to improve your hardware and data security.

HISTORY OF NATIONAL COMPUTER SECURITY DAY

“It seems like every day we hear about breaches in cyber security. Keeping people and companies safe online is a top priority all over the world. It’s something that stays uppermost in our minds on National Computer Security Day. The story of National Computer Security Day is an interesting one.

“On November 2, 1988, Cornell University researchers uncovered an unknown virus lurking in their computer systems. Within four hours of discovery, the Morris worm virus invaded several other university systems as well as the ARPANET, an early version of today’s internet.

“Six days later,  two computer experts with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recommended assembling  a National Computer Infection Action Team (NCAT) to respond 24/7, 365 to these kinds of attacks. On November 14, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), a research center connected with Carnegie Mellon University, set up the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). 

“In 1988, the National Computer Security Day sprang out of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Special Interest Group on Security, Audit, and Control as a way to raise awareness about cybercrimes and viruses.  According to a 2004 Networld article, ‘November 30 was chosen for CSD so that attention on computer security would remain high during the holiday season – when people are typically more focused on the busy shopping season than thwarting security threats.’ By 2003, CERT and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security joined forces to create the National Cyber Awareness System. 

“Whether we’re talking about National Computer Security Day or  National Cybersecurity Awareness Month also in October, the goals are essentially the same. Each person must be proactive to protect their online security. Use this month to find out all you can about common-sense ways to stay safe in cyberspace.”

HOW ZORROSIGN’S PLATFORM SUPPORTS COMPUTER SECURITY

ZorroSign is the first company that offers a multi-blockchain data security platform to secure, track, and manage your digital signatures, transactions, and documentation.

By using distributed ledger technologies—originally built on Hyperledger Fabric and now expanded to include the Provenance Blockchain—ZorroSign provides superior privacy and security, while preventing fraud and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Blockchains provide structural layers of protection from cybercrime—like ransomware, malware, or phishing attacks—first, by decentralizing the data set itself (preventing any one breach to access the entire data set), and second, by giving endpoints (or nodes) a quick path to recovery, even if they are themselves breached or their access ransomed.  Unlike centralized databases—which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices) or even at managed service providers (MSPs) hosting them—giving attackers complete control once they gain central access, blockchain technology distributes data physically across separate nodes.  By decentralizing data storage, blockchain effectively prevents any one endpoint (even if compromised) from gaining control of the full data set. This distributed nature defeats any attack seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypts the data files stored inside: A single endpoint node might be breached, and its files held for ransom, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.

ZorroSign has further elevated our security through our patented fraud detection technology we call the Z-Forensics token. This unique digital solution that can:

• Prove that the individual who is performing the action to sign the document is who they claim to be (verification)
• Apply a digital equivalent of a wet-ink signature to the document (legal intent)
• Prove the authenticity of the printed or digital version of an electronically signed document, its content, attachments, and the signatures on it (authenticity)

Plus ZorroSign supports computer security with passwordless authentication capabilities, leveraging the biometric security of Apple and Android mobile devices to login to the device (and ZorroSign app) with hardware biometric capture features such as face, fingerprint, and iris scans.  Such biometric login facilitates user authentication at the device-level without passwords (which can be hacked or stolen) for elevated security of digital signatures and your digital documents.

HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL COMPUTER SECURITY DAY

• “Create a strong password
  In computer security, length matters. Passwords that are six characters are easier to hack, especially if they’re only made up of lowercase letters. To beef up your password, weave a nine-character combination of uppercase letters, symbols and numbers. Lastly, avoid using the same password for every account.

• “Update spyware and malware protection software
  First, check to see if your operating system is up-to-date. If that’s set, update your protection software. Run a scan and don’t forget to invite your other devices to the party. Phones and tablets are also major security risks, so be diligent.

• “Encrypt and backup your data
  Encrypt your data to create the brainiest of all brainteasers. But keep this in mind: even the best brain teaser can be cracked. That’s why it’s still important to back up your info on either the cloud or an external hard drive. (Just make sure that everything stays encrypted.)”

• Use ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain
  Tap the cybersecurity of blockchain with ZorroSign’s platform uniting digital signatures (Z-Sign), automated compliance (Z-Flow), intelligent forms (Z-Fill), document storage (Z-Vault), patented fraud prevention (Z-Forensics), user authentication and document verification (Z-Verify), identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), and so much more. Plus elevate computer security with our passwordless login capabilities, and patented Z-Forensics token for fraud detection.  When the risk is personal and everything is on the line, Block It Down!

Contact us to learn more or put us to the test:  Start your free trial of ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain today!

With more and more businesses, governments, and individuals employing blockchain technology for commerce and operations, ZorroSign stands as key addition to your technology stack. 

Whether you’re decentralizing data with web3, securing cloud or software-as-a-service (SaaS) architectures, committing to digital transformation, or elevating sustainability, our multi-chain blockchain solution is the perfect addition to your IT offerings—learn how!

If You’re Decentralizing with Web3

The idea of escaping a centralized authority managing protocols, transactions, and access was built into the World Wide Web from its earliest days. 

• Web 1.0 was the initial iteration of the World Wide Web in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  “Web 1.0 is the term used for the earliest version of the Internet as it emerged from its origins with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),” writes Kuntal Chakraborty for Techopedia. “Experts refer to it as the ‘read-only’ web—a web that was not interactive in any significant sense.”
• From those early static web pages, a platform model of computing soon evolved that would become Web 2.0 or the ‘social web.’  Here, interaction with growing web applications and platforms drove e-commerce and the expansion of the Internet, allowing large providers to aggregate and control much of the shared data.  This is the Internet we know today.

• The dream of Web 3.0, however, is to break the centralization of information and democratize the Internet more to the vision of its earliest founders.  “Web3, ” claims Chris Dixon from Andreesen Horowitz in a recent article in The Economist, “combines the decentralized, community-governed ethos of web1 with the advanced, modern functionality of web2.”

“The rise of technologies such as distributed ledgers and storage on blockchain will allow for data decentralization and create a transparent and secure environment, overtaking Web 2.0’s centralization, surveillance and exploitative advertising,” writes Charles Silver in a recent Forbes article.  “Indeed, one of the most significant implications of decentralization and blockchain technology is in the area of data ownership and compensation… Web 3.0 will bring us a fairer internet by enabling the individual to be a sovereign.”

Blockchains are distributed ledger technology (DLT) leveraging cryptography—user authentication, data encryption and verification—to secure information records (blocks) distributed across peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. DLTs replicate, share, and synchronize digital data geographically spread across multiple sites (nodes), with no central data storage or administrator. They can run publicly (open) or privately (permissioned).

Perhaps most importantly, blockchains can support smart contracts—where terms, conditions, and permissions written into the digital code that require an exact sequence of events to take place to trigger the agreement of the terms mentioned in the blockchain contract. This hardwiring of contract details greatly increases speed (via automation), trust (where accuracy and backup are built into the transaction), and autonomy (as no third parties are required to mediate or control the exchange) of transactions.

As such, centralized solutions such as blockchains have immense potential to transform business contracts, real estate deals, digital rights, supply chain security and provenance, estate planning, and many other legal transactions.

And here is where ZorroSign shines! 

We have built our digital platform from the ground up using blockchain technology.  Launched with Hyperledger Fabric, our multi-chain platform now supports the public Provenance Blockchain as well, giving our users an entirely new world of decentralized digital transactions.

Our web3 technology platform also provides identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) capabilities through a patented Z-Forensics token plus fraud prevention, user authentication, and document verification.  Web3 features such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) allow us to automate form completion for digital documents, and can improve regulatory compliance across global standards for legally enforceable digital signatures.

Paired with Provenance Blockchain—which reduces the need for third-party intermediation, drastically reducing costs and freeing up capital in financial transactions—ZorroSign’s platform promotes greater transparency and liquidity for organizations, and allows for new kinds of financial engineering and business opportunities.

If You’re Securing SaaS or Cloud Solutions

More than 90% of all cyber attacks begin with phishing but blockchain architecture, originally built for zero-trust environments, can deliver a compelling alternative to centralized databases and a strong protection against cyber attacks. How?

• In phishing attacks that seek to steal data, blockchain presents a data architecture where no single endpoint node controls the data set. Even if an individual endpoint is hacked through phishing or other social engineering, the data set is distributed across many nodes. This decentralization of data and access means even successful phishing attacks that penetrate a blockchain endpoint only gain a small piece of system access.
• In cyber attacks that seek to inject malware such as ransomware, the distributed nature of blockchain defeats those seeking to breach a system then holistically ransom the data files stored therein. Again, a single endpoint node might be breached, but the larger data set cannot be controlled by any one endpoint (or central authority) and so attackers cannot capture the full data set for encryption, ransom, and shutting down the network.

• Recovery is quicker with blockchain, too. With blockchain, each endpoint node has a unique encryption key to access and write to the distributed ledger. If any one of those endpoints is successfully hacked (compromising their access key), the blockchain can simply remove distributed ledger access for that compromised key, issue the endpoint a new key, and allow that endpoint to quickly regain distributed ledger access (effectively as a new endpoint). This speedy recovery process effectively maroons any ransomware on the endpoint it attacked—ending its access and threat—while allowing the endpoint to re-engage the larger data set with a new key and without needing to pay any ransom to the attackers for restored access.

ZorroSign technology leverages the biometric capabilities of hardware endpoints to verify user identities—for example, PC and mobile device fingerprint scans, iris scans, and face recognition to ensure users are who they claim to be.

ZorroSign is proud to be the first to adopt password-less login amongst our digital signature competitors.

And ZorroSign multi-factor authentication (MFA) provides maximum security, as before a user can sign a document, our platform can validate multiple dimensions of authentication based upon your transaction security needs: What you know (i.e., your ZorroSign login password ), what you have (e.g., your laptop or mobile device), who you are (e.g., biometrics such as fingerprints or eye iris on the device securing who can access it), etc.

ZorroSign has further elevated our security through our patented fraud detection technology we call the Z-Forensics token, our unique digital solution that can:

• Prove that the individual who is performing the action to sign the document is who they claim to be (verification); 
• Apply a digital equivalent of a wet-ink signature to the document (legal intent); and, 
• Prove the authenticity of the printed copy or digital version of an electronically signed document, its content, attachments, and the signatures on it (authenticity).

Unlike any other digital signature solution, ZorroSign seals all your documents with our Z-Forensics token—capturing the complete audit trail and accompanying attachments and signature workflow. The token is encrypted and contains all the details about the transaction: Time stamps, user authentication, documents and attachments.

And like your SaaS solutions, ZorroSign’s SaaS model can be deployed in various cloud configurations, making it seamless to integrate into your existing platform as a public, private, hybrid, or on-premise cloud:

• Our standard deployment is on Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud computing network
• In our private cloud configuration, all your data and the ZorroSign application run in a private and secure cloud network dedicated to your organization
• In a hybrid cloud configuration, your data can be stored on either ZorroSign data centers or in the private cloud, while the ZorroSign platform and applications run on their standard public cloud configurations
• On-premise deployments require your department to manage and maintain your own data centers, but gain the benefits of unlimited API calls and total control over identity access management (IAM), data privacy and security, and data integrity processes

If You’re Committed to Digital Transformation

For years, organizations have steadily moved more and more of their operations to digital data and delivery. Such advances save time and effort, automate key processes, and drive greater efficiency and effectiveness. With digital transformation, customers or constituents can receive services faster and gain self-service options, and employees get more time to work on the most important projects.

“Digital transformation is no longer an option, but an imperative,” notes the Harvard Business Review. “Recent research from Accenture has found that in the three years prior to 2018, firms who led their industry in enterprise technology adoption grew two times faster than laggards. Today, they are growing five times faster. The risk is no longer merely getting left behind, but being eliminated altogether.”

For organizations leveraging digital data, apps and SaaS, IoT, or any of the multitude of other digital solutions, adding ZorroSign can be an important consideration.

To transact business, commerce, government, or individual trade in such a digital ecosystem also requires legally enforceable digital signatures to prove agreement and intent. Our multi-chain blockchain platform delivers such digital signatures and ensures the digital chain-of-custody necessary to successfully defend digital signatures in a court of law.

And by digitizing paper-based workflows, ZorroSign’s digital signature and document management platform can decrease costs, reduce errors, and increase productivity across digital operations . . . a massive benefit for any organization committed to digital transformation!

If You’re Focused on Sustainable Business

Digital operations also eliminate paper so “going green” with paperless operations may readily align to your IT organization’s corporate social responsibility goals or vision. 

At ZorroSign, we help IT organizations deliver paperless operations. We all understand that switching from doing business using paper to digital records is not only a smart business decision, but it is also good for the environment. Each time you use ZorroSign to digitally transact agreements, contracts, and other documents—instead of printing, faxing, scanning, shipping documents overnight to collect signatures—you save trees and water, plus reduce carbon emissions.

Further, ZorroSign is dedicated to advancing sustainability while advancing new technologies, promoting a paperless life and leading sustainability programs that support environmental conservation. The company’s Save-a-Tree, Plant-a-Tree program, for example, plants a tree on behalf of customers every time they save 8,000 pages of copy paper. As one tree produces roughly 8,000 pages of copy paper, this amounts to a double incentive: Reducing the destruction of trees via reduced paper use, plus increasing the number of trees as a reward for reducing paper use.

For all these reasons and more, if you are using blockchain technologies—or planning to in 2023—consider ZorroSign as a strong complement to your technology stack!  You can start with a free 14-day trial to see what we can deliver or contact us to learn more!

See our short, introductory video on ZorroSign’s new user experience on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujwQXKuqWnM

We use blockchain technology for superior privacy, security, and compliance. Governments, businesses, and individuals around the world trust ZorroSign’s web3 solutions for their digital signatures, digital transactions, and digital document management.

Contact us with any questions or start your FREE TRIAL today . . .

ZorroSign CEO and co-founder, Shamsh Hadi, this week opened a new office for the Arizona team at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University‘s downtown Phoenix campus.

“We are thrilled to share offices with the ethical, visionary leaders tackling the world’s greatest challenges,” said Hadi, “ZorroSign has always been a global company, and now aligning with the entrepreneurs shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings fresh perspectives and new opportunities to our staff, partners and customers.”

Thunderbird School of Global Management is a unit of the Arizona State University. For more than 75 years, Thunderbird has been the vanguard of global management and leadership education, creating inclusive and sustainable prosperity worldwide by educating global leaders capable of tackling the world’s greatest challenges. Thunderbird’s Master of Global Management was ranked No. 1 in the world for 2019 by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education. ASU is ranked No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for eight years in succession.

“The people, the building, the campus, and the vibe here are truly electric,” added Hadi. “We look forward to tapping into that energy as we build new relationships and expand ZorroSign’s technology, innovation and sustainability efforts.”

For more information, read our September 22, 2022, press release here.

The user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of technologies, especially web-based solutions and apps, are critical to such technologies’ market success. “Taking advantage of the benefits of great UI/UX design is more vital than most people realize,” explains Eliza Brooks in a JumpStory article on design. “Everyone wants to experience and have the best technology, while at the same time not wasting any precious time.”

“If users cannot use your product and access all of its features, your prospects of success are greatly reduced,” notes Digital Solutions. “This usability factor is where the realms of User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) enter the picture. A great User Interface will draw people to your app right away, while a great User Experience will leave a lasting impression on your users.”

At ZorroSign, we have taken this truth to heart and are proud to unveil our entirely redesigned UI/UX for the next generation of our multi-chain blockchain platform for digital signatures!

UI v. UX

To begin, a quick definition of UI and UX may be helpful. “Generally speaking, UX is the one that ensures your digital platform works smoothly—including pleasant and accessible designs, a clear and concise user journey, simple navigation processes, responsiveness, etc.,” explains a recent Wire Delta article. “On the other hand, User Interface or UI Design is for just that—the interface. In other words, UI takes care of typography, layouts, colors, graphic design, and visual design. So, while it is helping customers interact with different digital products and services, it does not consider the user journey.”

In other words, the UX is the sum of the whole—the complete experience a user has of using a specific UI, engaging its features and functionality, and generating whatever outcomes the technology produces—functionality, information, calculation, etc.

While the UI is the environment of the screen or app, the physical engagement and interaction via clicks, buttons, form entry, and all other inputs and outputs.

“User interface elements usually fall into one of the following four categories,” write Maria de la Rivva for Career Foundry. “Input Controls, Navigation Components, Informational Components, Containers. Input controls allow users to input information into the system. If you need your users to tell you what country they are in, for example, you’ll use an input control to let them do so. Navigational components help users move around a product or website. Common navigational components include tab bars on an iOS device and a hamburger menu on an Android. Informational components share information with users. Containers hold related content together.”

So UX is the total experience of using a technology, while UI is the tactical, direct engagement of the technologies interface.

Why Your UI/UX Must Continuously Evolve

“User Interface (UI) updates present an exciting opportunity for design teams to reinvigorate stale experiences, address issues, and explore future iterations,” writes Ayana Campbell Smith for Envy Labs. “It’s never a question of if interface updates will be necessary, but instead, when.”

For an innovative technology company, resting on the laurels of a successful product is simply not good enough. Innovators must continuously revisit, refine, and improve their solutions to ensure their great technologies are also great experiences for their customers, clients, users, and prospects.

A well-designed user interface delivers five key user experiences according to GeeksforGeeks: 

• Simplicity—which is to say, the minimum clicks or keystrokes to achieve a task
• Consistency—across typeface, style, size, and components to deliver information with minimal chaos and ambiguity
• Intuitiveness—input and navigation that is easy to learn, with concise and cogent icons and labels
• Prevention—readily prevent users from performing inaccurate/inappropriate actions on the site by steering them always to the correct functions
• Forgiveness—a quick way back/out if users find themselves in functions or content they did not mean to engage

Perhaps equally important, users’ expectations for simplicity, consistency, intuitiveness, prevention, and forgiveness evolve over time—especially as new technologies come to market and reshape their expectations. Recall for example the leap in UI expectations from desktop computers (keyboard and mouse), to our expectations on mobile phones or tablets (touchscreen or voice command)! Evolving technologies produce evolving user expectations and needs for UI/UX.

The Value of Great UI/UX

“A strong and valuable user experience offers a business a strong competitive advantage in attracting and retaining their customers,” continues Brooks. She calls out five critical benefits to a strong user experience, including:

• Improving customer acquisition—”The more aesthetically pleasing a brand’s site design is, and the more intuitive the features are, the easier it is for them to build trust and thus increase the chances of the brand attracting users and quite possibly converting them into customers”
• Helping with customer retention—delivering an intuitive, beautiful experience brings people back to that experience!
• Optimizing development time and costs—by focusing on the customer experience, development teams can more “easily pinpoint and address usability issues” and “anticipate the needs of users before releasing the solution to a wider audience”
• Increasing productivity—efficient UI/UX design streamlines tasks, work, and outcomes
• Generating more user engagement—for example, employing UI design that is instructive, clearly conveying the help/benefits of engaging a specific page or functionality

“Investing in an effective Ul/UX design increases customer satisfaction, resulting in satisfied customers,” continues Digital Solutions. “People like to work for companies that make them happy. Ultimately, this will improve your firm’s credibility as a client and fosters positive associations with your company and brand. As a result, the worth of your company and your brand name will shoot up and increase.”

At ZorroSign, we agree completely!

“Digital products with a good user interface give you a competitive edge in a constantly growing world where companies are starting to realize the importance of good user experience,” says Tiffany Eaton for UX Collective. We realize this truth and are excited to share the new UI/UX we bring to market.

Contact us to learn more about ZorroSign’s completely redesigned UI/UX for 2022 . . . or start your free trial to put our next generation user interface to the test!

The Arizona Technology Council and Phoenix Business RadioX are proud to host monthly podcasts on technology events, forecasts, issues, and trends. For the July 27th podcast, hosts Karen Nowicki and Steven Zylstra invited experts from DocSolid, OnStream Software, and ZorroSign to discuss how digital transformation can reimagine customer interactions.

Steve Irons of DocSolid, Tiffany Ma of OneStream Software, and Kristen Harder of ZorroSign spoke on the importance of digital transformation for businesses, issues and obstacles businesses often encounter when moving to digital, how DocSolid, OneStream, and ZorroSign help companies transition from paper-based operations to digital, business benefits beyond faster digital processes, future trends, and predictions for the next ten years of digital transformation.

You can find and listen to the AZ TechCast from July 27 at https://businessradiox.com/podcast/phoenixbusinessradio/digital-transformation-of-operational-workflows-e28/

We are proud of our multi-chain blockchain platform at ZorroSign—delivering digital signatures paired with identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) technologies, a patented fraud prevention solution, AI/ML-driven form completion, and customizable workflows to ensure the highest privacy, security, and compliance for your digital transactions!

But while we live-and-breathe digital signatures, you might still be learning how digital signatures work and what benefits they might bring to your organization.  We can help! 

Below find some common questions we hear about digital signatures and short answers to get you started . . .

1. 1. Are digital signatures legally accepted/enforceable like paper-based signatures?

Yes!  Back in 2000, the U.S. passed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act along with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) granting electronic signatures the full strength and legality of paper-based “wet” signatures.  As such, digital signatures are valid in all 50 U.S. states, plus most countries around the world.

Beyond the United States, Australia’s Electronic Transactions Act, Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), China’s 2004 Electronic Signature Law, the European Union’s Directive 199/93/EC, India’s Information Technology (IT) Act 2000, Japan’s Law Concerning Electronic Signatures and Certification Services, New Zealand’s Electronic Transactions Act, the UAE’s Federal Law No. 1 of 2006 regarding Electronic Transactions and E-Commerce, the United Kingdom’s Electronic Communications Act and subsequent Electronic Signatures Regulation 2002, all regulate and support the legal enforceability of digital signatures around the world.

1. 2. Why do companies, governments, or other organizations typically switch from paper-based to digital signatures?

Public and private organizations move to digital signatures for many different reasons, for example:

• Some switch to save the costs of paper-based document printing, copying, couriering, and storage
• Some switch to speed transaction workflows, document signing ceremonies, and execution of legal agreements
• Some seek to improve regulatory/quality compliance with the digital management of transaction and personal information
• Some want to improve the privacy and security of documents and transactions through digital encryption and security protocols
• Some aspire to improve customer/constituent experiences with digital and mobile operations
• Some are looking for the competitive advantage digital operations bring with all these benefits

Why are you considering the move to digital signatures?

1. 3. With digital signatures, how do we know the person signing is really who they say/are supposed to be?

While some digital signature platforms grant access via simple username and password, the industry standard is two-factor authentication and rapidly evolving to MFA with password-less logins.

With ZorroSign, we’ve integrated identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) technologies to verify users, for example:

• ZorroSign technology leverages the biometric capabilities of hardware endpoints to verify user identities.
• ZorroSign is the first to adopt password-less login amongst our digital signature competitors.
• ZorroSign MFA provides maximum security, as before a user can sign a document, our platform can validate multiple dimensions of authentication based on the transaction security needs, such as:
  • What you know (i.e., your ZorroSign login password),
  • What you have (e.g., your laptop or mobile device),
  • Who you are (e.g., biometrics such as fingerprints or eye iris on the device securing who can access it), etc.
  • Additionally, ZorroSign users can optionally use our dynamic knowledge-based authentication (KBA) feature—provided by LexisNexis—which requires the knowledge of confidential information of the individual to prove that the person providing identity information is the actual person.

These technologies secure the endpoints of our private, permissioned Hyperledger Fabric blockchain architecture where only approved nodes (endpoints) are allowed to access our distributed ledger system.

1. 4. How Does ZorroSign Use Blockchain and Web3 Technologies for Digital Signatures?

ZorroSign is the first company that offers a multi-blockchain platform to secure, track, and manage your digital signatures, transactions, and documentation!

Since 2000, several technologies have come to market to deliver digital signatures, but when a distributed ledger technology—or DLT, such as blockchain—is used for digital signatures, signers gain the unique advantages of:

• Privacy — with a private blockchain, only participants to the transaction can see details of the transaction, and those participants share equal access to such details
• Immutability — all records and changes are tracked and cannot be changed, providing important chain-of-custody audit capabilities for courts
• Security — all records are individually encrypted and distributed for better protection from phishing and ransomware attacks

ZorroSign was built from the ground up on Hyperledger Fabric to deliver digital signatures with the superior privacy and security of blockchain.

And we recently announced a partnership with Provence Blockchain to add their DLT to our architecture as well, effectively becoming a multi-chain blockchain platform.

Assuming contracts are critical to your business or organization, then a secure, reliable solution for contract lifecycle management (CLM) is imperative and blockchain supports CLM in amazing ways.

Strong CLM solutions must include visibility (a dashboard or overview of where individual contracts are in the life cycle), integration with communications and storage systems, automation (as few contracts start from scratch—most are iterations of previously created agreements), and of course change tracking to readily see how contracts changed during negotiations and what final version was executed by all parties.

With our blockchain architecture, ZorroSign’s platform unites and uniquely delivers:

• Digital signatures via Z-Sign to quickly execute legally binding contracts
• Patented Z-Forensics token to prevent fraud and tampering
• Z-Flow workflow automation to quickly build templates and approval chains
• Z-Fill leveraging ZorroSign’s artificially intelligent, machine-learning engine
• Z-Verify to know exactly who signed what and when, with full validation of every document’s authenticity and immutability
• Z-Vault to securely store contract and transaction records immutably on blockchain

ZorroSign’s platform can be accessed via PCs and mobile devices, allowing your legal department, operations and procurement teams, and sales teams to efficiently generate, negotiate, communicate, and sign agreements. And with our Z-Vault, contracts reside on an immutable document management system (DMS) where they can be saved, searched for, and managed easily from a single, intuitive user interface.

1. 5. How Do Digital Signatures Meet International Privacy and Security Compliance?

At ZorroSign, we are proud to make the security and privacy of our customers’ data our top focus. 

Our unique combination of security architecture and data privacy functionality grants ZorroSign compliance across international standards for privacy and security, including but not limited to:

• Canada:  The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
• Canada:  The Uniform Electronic Commerce Act (UECA)
• EU:  Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for data privacy and security
• EU:  The electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services (eIDAS) regulation
• India:  The Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act of India)
• International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) No. 3402, Type II audited
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 certified
• PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures (PAdES) is a set of restrictions and extensions to PDF and ISO 32000-1
• UAE:  Federal Law No. 1 of 2006 regarding Electronic Transactions and E-Commerce granting electronic signatures legal force and effect
• USA:  American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) SOC 2 Type I audit
• USA:  California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
• USA:  Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) encryption standards
• USA:  The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
• USA:  The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
• USA:  FDA Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations; Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures
• USA:  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• USA:  The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)

We invite you to request a copy of our ZorroSign Security Brief for details on our private blockchain architecture, document storage and protection, and platform security measures.

1. 6. How much does it cost to try digital signature software and learn if it’s right for me?

ZorroSign offers a free 14-day trial license to test out our features, securely sign digital documents, build templates and approval workflows, and store your transaction data on blockchain. 

No credit card required, visit our Free Trial page to get started!

In today’s global economy, there are lots of bad actors and threats to your digital information. Whether you work for a government agency, a business, an IT department, a law firm, a financial service provider, or just about any other organization generating and storing digital data, your information—and your customers’ or constituents’ information—must be protected.

“You need a trusted friend,” says Kevin Youngblood from Youngblood Works. “ZorroSign is built on blockchain and is the most secure platform available.”  See Kevin’s endorsement video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcM3KoA_qI4

ZorroSign’s U.S. headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona brings blockchain technology to U.S. companies, organizations, and individuals signing digital documents and executing transactions digitally.

“If you’re looking for a secure way to transact with third parties or multi-parties,” says Robert Vera from GCU‘s Canyon Ventures Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, “ZorroSign is that technology that you need to have confidence that your transactions are secure in today’s environment.”

See Robert’s endorsement video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vcTlYnRfiY

If you’re ready to try ZorroSign’s multi-chain blockchain platform for yourself—for superior privacy and security for all your digital signatures and transactions—start a Free Trial today!

Whether you work in education, finance, government, healthcare, IT, legal, real estate, or other industries, you often need repetitive but complex forms completed and submitted.

It might be your team filling out the information—or clients, constituents, customers, parents, parties, patients, partners, or students—but getting through the forms accurately and completely is critical to performing a key operation.  And often capturing and managing the information on those forms falls under privacy and/or security compliance regulations as well!

As more and more information capture forms move to digital formats, ZorroSign can help!

The Power of AI

We realized early in our platform development that many repetitive processes can be streamlined with the help of machine learning. A subset of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning is an application of AI that allows digital systems to learn and improve processes through repetition without being explicitly programmed. 

Machine learning “can be loosely interpreted to mean empowering computer systems with the ability to ‘learn,’” explains Towards Data Science.  “The intention of ML is to enable machines to learn by themselves using the provided data and make accurate predictions.”

Within ZorroSign’s multi-chain blockchain platform, we’ve nested a machine learning engine that enables our platform users to digitize documentation, eliminate the paperchase and improve efficiency, while speeding up the process of filling out forms for employees and customers alike—all with increased accuracy.

We call this intelligent form-fill feature, Z-Fill.

Bringing Intelligent Forms to Your Organization

No matter your industry, if you are capturing detailed and privileged/private/secure information on multiple forms, ZorroSign’s intelligent form-fill can speed your process and improve compliance with international privacy and security standards.

Our Z-Fill feature brings immediate benefits to any organization, including:

• Helping users fill forms with ease by anticipating entries with AI and machine learning
• Speeding document uploads and conversions in a semi-automated process
• Allowing signees to upload forms, which are converted to digital with autofill options via profile information
• Reducing errors by matching profile information to a form-fill option
• Anticipating entries with use as our machine-learning engine learns your processes over time
• Saving time with auto-fill learning at every point in a document’s journey!

If you’re ready to try ZorroSign’s multi-chain blockchain platform for yourself—for digital signatures, workflows, or form-fill—start a Free Trial for 14 days.  No credit card required, just an email address!