ZorroSign today announced the integration of our data security platform—built on blockchain—with Meta’s WhatsApp instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service.
WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging application with over two billion users in more than 180 countries. The service is the primary means of Internet communication in Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, and large parts of Europe and Africa.
This integration is a game-changing feature that revolutionizes how ZorroSign users manage their documents—elevating our user experience to unprecedented levels. With WhatsApp notifications, ZorroSign users can now receive instant alerts when actions are required for their Z-Sign documents or if any changes are made. This private, real-time communication ensures that users stay informed and empowered, enabling them to take prompt action and make informed decisions wherever they are.
“We are thrilled to announce the integration with WhatsApp, marking another milestone in our ongoing commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction,” said Shamsh Hadi, CEO and co-founder of ZorroSign. “Pairing the advanced data security of ZorroSign with the fast, simple, reliable communications of WhatsApp ensures our users that their digital documents, digital transactions, and digital privacy will always be protected.”
Switching from paper-based operations to digital operations is not only a smart business decision, but it is also good for the environment. Each time you use ZorroSign technologies to execute transactions digitally—instead of printing, faxing, scanning, and shipping documents to collect signatures—you save trees, save water, and reduce carbon emissions.
Plus your organization saves time and money with real-time WhatsApp notifications that enable fast, secure Z-signing!
With its focus on enhancing communication, collaboration, and workflow management, the new WhatsApp notifications feature underscores ZorroSign’s dedication to providing cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of modern businesses. Read more about ZorroSign’s technology platform and our commitment to sustainability today.
ZorroSign is proud to launch our highly anticipated Send Back feature!
This exciting functionality allows users to easily send their Z-Sign® envelopes back to any previous steps in the document workflow—with comments to explain any changes or additions required.
Envelopes that ZorroSign users Send Back will appear with a “Send Back” label within recipients’ Z-Vault® inboxes.
And with the Send Back comment section, users can readily identify what changes or additions they are being asked to make within the document or signing workflow.
Send Back is a simple, efficient way to update your document workflow or signing process . . . even after you’ve sent documents out for review, approval, or Z-signing!
Visit our online Help Center for more details on how to Send Back envelopes, or visit our YouTube channel for the latest how-to videos on key ZorroSign features. When privacy and security are on the line, Block It Down®!
By Shamsh Hadi, CEO & Co-Founder of ZorroSign, Inc.
As CEO of ZorroSign, Inc. I am committed to advancing technology while advancing sustainability. With regard to technology, I am always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve—especially in cybersecurity.
But lately, there’s an emerging technology that keeps me up at night: Quantum computing.
While quantum computing promises potential breakthroughs in AI, chemistry and medicine, physics and materials science, it also presents a significant threat to cybersecurity.
Think of it like this: The locks guarding our digital data are built on complex mathematical problems (cryptography). Today’s computers struggle to crack these problems, taking years with longer encryption keys, keeping our information safe. But quantum computers, capable of massively parallel processing, could potentially shatter these locks and access encrypted data with ease.
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break the public-private key encryption that secures digital communications, data, and transactions today, explains ScienceNews. “’All of those public-key algorithms are vulnerable to an attack that can only be carried out by a quantum computer,’ says mathematician Angela Robinson of NIST, ‘Our whole digital world is relying on quantum-vulnerable algorithms.’”
PQC is the next generation of encryption—designed to withstand the challenges of quantum computing by providing greater cybersecurity resilience. While the market is still evolving, PQC initiatives are rolling out and it is crucial to start assessing PQC solutions to future-proof your data security:
Protecting sensitive information — from financial records to customer data, a data breach can be catastrophic but strong PQC safeguards your most valuable digital data assets.
Maintaining customer trust — consumers expect their data to be safe, and implementing PQC demonstrates your commitment to robust, future-proof data security.
Staying competitive — businesses that embrace PQC early will be recognized as leaders in cybersecurity, gaining a potential edge in competitive markets.
The future of quantum computing is uncertain, but one thing is clear: Business leaders cannot afford to be unprepared.
By proactively adopting PQC, you can ensure your business data and your customer data remains secure—no matter what the future holds. I invite you to start exploring PQC solutions today and safeguard your business for the quantum tomorrow. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or email me to start a conversation . . .
ZorroSign is proud to announce the release of two new enhancements that will help to ensure the best digital signature experience on our data security company built on blockchain. . . let’s dive in!
ATTACHMENTS
Our new Attachment functionality allows users to assign attachments to users in a workflow plus add supporting files to envelopes being created. For example, once you have created a workflow and envelope, the new Attachment icon is now available on the top right of your screen.
When assigned attachments as a ZorroSign user, you can see how to add the specified attachments assigned to you, as well as add supporting files to the envelope, and view attached files added by previous users. Multiple files can be uploaded by selecting upload again and continuing the same process.
To learn more about how to assign attachments and add attachments to your envelope, visit our “how to” videos on YouTube at:
Our new Delegate functionality allows ZorroSign users more flexibility when it comes to signing and sending their documents. For example, you can now assign a delegate to Z-Sign envelopes on your behalf—when you are out of town, away from your devices, or do not have access to your ZorroSign account.
To access this new feature, you must contact [email protected] to add it to your organization. Then, your organization’s ZorroSign administrator can assign specific people access to delegate or allow your entire organization access.
When a delegator assigns someone else as delegate, all envelopes sent to the delegator—during the delegation period—will now appear in the delegate’s Z-Vault Inbox. When assigning a delegate, users must set a start and end date for the delegation period, and once that time period is expired, the delegate will lose access to delegated documents.
To learn how to enable Delegation for your organization, add someone as a delegate, and how to Z-Sign a document as a delegate, view our “how to” videos on YouTube at:
At ZorroSign, we are excited to continuously expand our data security platform on blockchain and bring you the very best user experience in digital signatures, data storage, document workflow management, and more!
By Shamsh Hadi, CEO & Co-Founder of ZorroSign, Inc.
Organizations with large information technology (IT) requirements and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies—like ZorroSign—have much to gain by considering green data centers for hosting their solutions in 2024.
From the World Bank’s and United Nation’s guidance on climate-resilient data centers, there are several key characteristics and practices that set green data centers apart from traditional data centers, including:
Prioritizing renewable energy sources like solar, wind, or hydro power to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and carbon footprint
Pursuing climate-resiliency with certifications like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to ensure the data center is built with sustainable materials and practices; and employing Energy Star certified servers, cooling systems, and other equipment that is used to meet strict energy efficiency standards set by the EPA’s Energy Star program
Lowering Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), created by members of the Green Grid to measure the total energy used by the facility divided by the energy used by the IT equipment—a lower PUE value indicates better efficiency and a PUE below 2.0 is considered a green data center benchmark
Virtualization and consolidation, such as optimizing server utilization by virtualizing workloads and consolidating physical servers, serve to reduce the overall number of machines needed and their energy consumption
Conserving water and implementing water-efficient landscaping, rainwater harvesting, and greywater reuse systems
E-waste recycling to properly dispose of or recycle IT equipment at the end of its life cycle
With such clear benefits, choosing a green data center for your organization or SaaS hosting is a win-win proposition in 2024!
Not only does such hosting benefit our shared environment, but it can enhance your brand, potentially save your company money, and provides a path to future proofing your business.
Specifically, your business can reap environmental and operating advantages such as:
Reducing your carbon footprint — where traditional “data centers are responsible for 2% of overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,” choosing a green data center powered by renewable energy sources like solar, wind, or hydro can significantly reduce your company’s carbon footprint and align you with sustainability goals
Cost savings — green data centers use energy-efficient technologies and cooling systems which ultimately lead to lower operational costs and potentially cheaper hosting fees: “Green data centers can achieve up to 30% energy savings compared to traditional centers, resulting in substantial cost reductions” (plus many locales offer tax incentives and rebates for companies using green data centers!)
Enhancing your brand image — in today’s climate-conscious market, consumers increasingly value brands that prioritize environmental responsibility, so choosing a green data center can be a way to demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and elevate your brand with investors and consumers
Better community engagement — partnering with a local green data center can create new opportunities for community engagement and collaboration, fostering positive relationships with local stakeholders and enhancing your company’s social impact
Attracting talent — similarly, sustainability and green initiatives can be a major draw for environmentally-conscious employees, so hosting with a green data center could enhance your brand and help attract top talent
Futureproofing your business — finally, as concerns about climate change and natural resource depletion grow, regulations targeting energy-intensive industries like data centers are likely to become stricter . . . hosting with a green data center in 2024 puts your business ahead of the curve and may protect you from future regulatory risks
With such benefits within reach, I hope you will consider hosting your SaaS solution with a green data center.
Remember, the green data center landscape is constantly evolving, so it’s important to research and compare different options before making a hosting decision. Other International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and World Bank Group resources available for assessing data centers include:
I am eager to start a conversation about hosting with green data centers in 2024—let’s connect on LinkedIn!
By Shamsh Hadi, CEO & Co-Founder of ZorroSign, Inc.
I am excited to share a bit of my experience at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP28 in Dubai, this past November and December. Hundreds of global leaders attended the event, many important commitments were made, and several pending action items fulfilled from early conferences. It was a truly huge moment for environmental conservation and climate change discussions.
As CEO and co-founder of ZorroSign, a global technology company committed to sustainability, I feel deeply the vital role I can play in fulfilling the promises of COP28—both as an entrepreneur and world citizen. I want to summarize some key takeaways from the event, and share how ZorroSign will actively be supporting COP28 resolutions in the year ahead.
COP28 Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum
An exciting addition to the Climate Change Conference was the creation of the Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum.
“The inaugural COP28 Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum was convened to provide global business and philanthropy stakeholders with a dedicated platform for exchanging ideas, fostering collaboration, and generating action in support of the world’s climate and nature goals,” noted Badr Jafar, COP28 Special Representative and Chair for the Forum. “This Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum has the potential to become an historic turning point in our collective efforts to address climate change and nature loss, formalizing this crucial community’s role in the COP process going forward.”
The Forum’s driving effort was to convert the good intentions of the conference into action. For example, collective actions agreed upon included:
Energy transition away from coal-fired power plants; new commitments to renewable energy; reducing emissions from energy, transport and heavy-emitting industries; combatting super pollutants such as methane; and a Net Zero movement of leading healthcare organizations
Climate finance efforts with multiple financial vehicles for climate-related projects, funding new moonshot innovation projects, carbon credits and decarbonization solutions, and more
People and nature efforts around the development of sustainability-rich food systems, transforming food supply chains, and water resilience efforts
Inclusion commitments such as the COP28 & SME Climate Hub for MENA, the International Indigenous Peoples Forum, ONE Amazon, Skills for a Greener Future, and calls accelerate climate adaptation and mitigation efforts that address the specific demands, needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls
Open Discussions About the Future
It was thrilling to hear the open dialog at the conference. The United Arab Emirates was criticized at times as a petrostate championing clean energy, but the small protests were respectful and focused, and the hosts were tolerant and engaged—earnestly expanding discussions that acknowledge current global economic realities, while sincerely exploring future possibilities to improve climate change impacts. It was hugely exciting to be in the midst of such a dynamic debate!
Moreover, the discussion was multi-generational and future generations were often cited as the benefactors of improvements we might make today. The participants acknowledge how much work must be done in combatting climate change, but commitments to sustainability—behaviorally, financially, politically, and technologically—are key for improving the environment for our children, their children, and their children’s children.
Not Just the Air, but the Oceans, Too
Another eye-opening experience for me was to hear so much talk about ocean conservation. Many COP28 participants and programs not only talked about climate change in the air, but doubled down on ocean conservation and reducing the negative human impact on the seas. At one point “the central dome of the venue, Expo City in Dubai, was turned into a teeming coral reef,” writes The Economist. “Turtles swam cozily with similar-sized humpback whales. A change in soundtrack saw them suddenly turned into dancing, blood-red squid.” Such emphasis on climate change’s impact on the oceans was enlightening and an important addition to the discussion.
ZorroSign’s Takeaways for Improved Sustainability
As I lead ZorroSign into 2024, I am inspired to act upon COP28’s commitments in several ways.
ZorroSign has long championed sustainability and our commitment to helping individuals, companies, governments, and organizations achieve a “Paperless Life” will continue—as will our Save a Tree, Plant a Tree program, our partnership with One Tree Planted, and our contributions to Plant for the Planet’s Trillion Tree Campaign.
As a family and a company, we will continue actively participating in the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s “National Carbon Sequestration Project” with a goal of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030 across the country.
Pushing into new sustainability operations, we will partner with “green data centers” in 2024—hosting our data security platform built on blockchain with UN-approved carbon-neutral network sites.
And we will continue to educate our customers, partners, and stakeholders on the more sustainable operations possible with our unique technology platform—digitizing signature ceremonies, facilitating the workflow of digital documents, and leveraging blockchain technologies to increase data democratization while saving trees, saving water, and reducing carbon emissions.
I would love to hear your thoughts on COP28, improving sustainability, and conserving natural resources for future generations! Please connect with me on LinkedIn or email me to start a conversation . . .
ZorroSign,a data security platform built on blockchain, is in talks to acquire US-based firms in data record and storage and learning-management systems, said co-founder and CEO Shamsh Hadi.
The Phoenix-based company would also like exposure to verticals including finance and healthcare, the executive told this news service. Targets are expected to give them access to new customers and technology.
Established in 2015, ZorroSign uses digital signature technology to create a unified platform delivering data privacy and security on blockchain, according to its website. It has 69 employees in its offices in the US, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and India. Around half of its headcount is involved in software development and research and development in Sri Lanka, he explained.
Its biggest market is the US, but the company has witnessed recent traction in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, he noted. Hadi, along with a UAE-based family, are the majority owners of the company, followed by employees.
In the past few years, the company received takeover approaches. In 2018, he said a NYSE-listed healthcare and insurance company approached ZorroSign for a potential takeover. Hadi declined as it was an all-stock offer and the bidder asked to drop all its customers and focus on them, he said.
In January 2020, a US-based consultancy firm approached ZorroSign for a takeover, but the offer was declined, the CEO said, without giving a reason.
“If you see our competitive landscape there is no product that is out there,” he said, when asked why the company is attractive.
Hadi declined to provide revenue but claimed “exponential growth.”
It plans to roll out the platform’s mobile app by the end of the month. It is also in talks with a company for the licensing of its patents which it sees as a “potential growth opportunity” in the future, he explained.
Competitors include DocuSign, Microsoft, Adobeand Google, the co-founder said.
Originally published by Mergermarket on January 4, 2024
By Shamsh Hadi, ZorroSign CEO and Co-Founder
We enjoyed a tremendous year at ZorroSign and I wanted to close 2023 with a quick look back at some joyful highlights and accomplishments . . .
In February 2023, ZorroSign launched our completely redesigned iOS mobile app! You can read the press release on the launch or visit Apple’s App Store to download for free. Our user experience with the iOS was a Gold Winner with the Best Mobile App Awards this year as well!
In March 2023, I was honored to be recognized on the Middle East’s Top 10 Successful Tech CEOs list.
In April 2023, ZorroSign achieved PCI DSS Certificationfor our data security platform built on blockchain!
In March and April 2023, ZorroSign’s global teams met in both Colombo, Sri Lanka and Dubai, UAE for strategic planning and fellowship—it was a joyful week full of successful meetings and team bonding!
In August 2023, I joined the team in Phoenix, Arizona to participate on the Global Chamber’s Panel on Women in Global Leadership. It was an uplifting event and I was grateful to be included in this important discussion!
In September 2023, I was thrilled to sign a growth partnership with Vision Tech Solutions—uniting ZorroSign’s data security platform and blockchain technologies with Vision Tech Solution’s IT infrastructure and services across the Gulf region.
In October, my family and I participated 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.
Also in October 2023, we expanded our integration with Provenance Blockchain, now allowing ZorroSign users to store digital document information—including signers, signatures and transaction metadata—on the Provenance Blockchain.
In November 2023, I was interviewed as one of 10 Business Leaders Transforming Their Industries by CIOLook Magazine and made their cover.
Also in November 2023, we were proud to launch our new Android app and upgraded iOS app, both of which you can download for free from the respective app stores.
And we closed the year by participating in the United Nations’ COP28 conference in Dubai, supporting sustainability and environmental conservation, while advancing technology and data democratization.
I am immensely proud of our global team and all that we have achieved this year!
Looking ahead, I want to share just a few of our plans for 2024 as a preview of what we will be delivering in the new year . . .
We will be promoting our free mobile apps on Android and iOS to start the new year as we add more features—look for the next update expanding our capabilities in January!
We will continue to promote sustainability while advancing technology, invigorated by the achievements of COP28 in Dubai so tightly aligned with ZorroSign’s commitment to environmental conservation. In a new effort, we will be engaging green data centers to maximize energy efficiency and minimize the environmental impact in hosting our platform.
The ZorroSign team will expand in 2024—potentially even with new offices as our staff outgrows our current spaces.
We will be continuously engineering our technology stack to maximize data privacy and security, as well as our ability to quickly scale across geographies and markets.
And as we continuously enhance our user experience across the platform and apps, we also anticipate an exciting rebranding of our technology the first half of 2024 . . . stay tuned for updates in Q1!
Wishing you all a very joyful and peaceful holiday!!
At the end of November, we launched our ground-breaking next generation Android mobile application: Upgrading the ZorroSign user experience and user interface with new features, security, compliance and system updates.
At ZorroSign, our goal is to ensure our apps and platform deliver the most intuitive and user-friendly digital signature experience available!
Governments, businesses, organizations, and individuals around the world trust ZorroSign to safeguard their digital documents and to provide an immutable chain of custody for their digital transactions. ZorroSign integrates multiple blockchains (Hyperledger Fabric and Provenance Blockchain), digital signatures, automated compliance, intelligent forms, document storage, patented fraud prevention, 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!
ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain includes:
Z-Sign® for legally binding digital signatures
Z-Forensics® token for patented fraud detection
Z-Flow® automation engine for building digital signature and approval workflows
Z-Fill® leveraging artificial intelligence/machine learning to speed form fill
Z-Verify® to ensure every document’s authenticity and immutability
Z-Vault® for blockchain-based document management
“We are thrilled to add this entirely new and leading-edge Android app to our technology stack,” said Shamsh Hadi, CEO and co-founder of ZorroSign. “Our development team is proud to deliver the best user experience in digital signatures, and our blockchain-based architecture elevates data privacy and security, while ensuring immutable records and legally enforceable digital signatures.”
With this exciting new Android app, you can Z-Sign documents:
Create genuine handwritten and computer-generated signatures
Z-Sign documents with a click of a button—any time, any place
Use Z-Fill to auto-complete fields while signing documents
Approve or reject documents
Share completed documents with others
Integrated with popular cloud drives
Add post-it notes to your documents
Upload attachments and supporting documents
Immutably store document and transaction details on blockchain
You can request signatures on documents:
Use templates or send one-time documents to Z-Sign
Upload multiple documents to Z-Sign
Supports multiple file formats
Prompts guide signers through precisely where to sign, initial, date, etc.
Define workflow through Z-Flow with signing order for multiple signers
Receive real-time push notifications
Track progress, identify bottlenecks in the workflow, and send reminders in your Z-Vault
Void/Cancel, expire, recall documents already out for digital signature
All with superior privacy, security and legality:
Digital signatures are legally binding and upheld in global courts of law
Meets International compliance and multiple accreditations
Use either private, permissioned Hyperledger Fabric or public, permissionless Provenance Blockchain
Complete chain of custody and audit trail with patented Z-Forensics technology
Validate and authenticate both digital and paper versions of Z-Sign documents
Detect any tampering, revisions, replaced or rejected documents
Use proprietary security certificates that never expire
A recent Crowdstrike blog argues how “like so many legacy technologies, legacy data loss prevention (DLP) tools fail to deliver the protection today’s organizations need.”
Crowdstrike notes that with rising attacks, new attack vectors, and higher cost data breaches, organizations are desperate for a modern alternative to traditional cybersecurity solutions, where (as the blog summarizes):
Unstructured data on endpoints is at great risk of misuse or breach
More than a third of data loss prevention deployments fail
Your data is too complex for legacy data loss prevention tools
Legacy data loss prevention tools lack visibility into real-world data flows, and so lack context to stop breaches
While I agree with all of Crowdstrike’s arguments, I believe blockchain technology improves cybersecurity and propose that storing your data on blockchain is a necessary leap forward in security versus legacy technologies.
Why is it vital that your organization moves to blockchain-based data storage? Four key reasons:
Immutable Records One of the main benefits of blockchain technology is its ability to provide secure and tamper-proof record keeping, as the use of cryptography and peer-consensus mechanisms ensures that once data is recorded on the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to alter or delete. This immutability and transparency provide important chain-of-custody audit capabilities for courts and ensure peace of mind to users. Such security also makes blockchains ideal for use in financial transactions, real estate agreements and other high-value exchanges, where a record of every step is essential for ensuring the integrity of the process.
Secure Authentication One of the main issues in cybersecurity is the vulnerability of traditional authentication methods such as passwords. Passwords can be easily hacked or stolen, leaving sensitive information vulnerable to attack. This can be a threat to businesses, especially those who store their users’ personal information. Blockchain technology can provide secure authentication through the use of public-private key cryptography, eliminating passwords from the process.
Decentralization Unliked centralized databases which can be breached at unsecure endpoints (users and devices)—or even at MSPs hosting them—giving attackers complete control once they gain central access, blockchain technology distributes data across geographically separate nodes.
The decentralized nature of blockchains ensures that there is no single point of failure, which also means that hackers cannot easily compromise the system. 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 those attacks seeking to breach a system and holistically encrypt the data files stored therein. For example, breaching a single endpoint node and attempting to hold data “for ransom” fails, as 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, or shutting down the network.
Further, with private, permissioned blockchains, each endpoint node (or user) has a unique encryption key to access and write to the distributed ledger. If any one of those endpoints is successfully attacked (presumedly compromising their access key), the private 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 unique 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.
Identity Verification Identity verification is another area where blockchain can be used to enhance cybersecurity. It ensures that the individual claiming a particular identity is actually who they say they are. With blockchain, users can have greater control over their personal information, allowing them to manage their digital identities more securely. This makes it more difficult for hackers to steal personal information or create fake identities.
ZorroSign’s Data Security Platform Built on Blockchain
As the world becomes more digitized and interconnected, the importance of cybersecurity will only continue to grow, and blockchain storage will play a crucial role in ensuring that our digital world remains safe and secure.
ZorroSign was built from the ground up on Hyperledger Fabric to deliver digital signatures with the superior privacy and security of blockchain. We recently announced our advanced integration with Provence Blockchain, adding their DLT to our architecture as well.
Our Z-Vault® enables ZorroSign users to store, structure, organize and search documents in folders and subfolders natively with the peace of mind that comes from blockchain-based data privacy and security—leaving legacy technologies behind for good.
ZorroSign’s platform can be accessed via PCs and mobile devices, allowing your staff to efficiently generate, negotiate, communicate, and sign agreements. And with Z-Vault, contracts reside on an immutable document management system where they can be saved, searched for, and easily managed from a single, intuitive user interface.
Z-Vault Benefits for Your Organization
Superior privacy and security to PKI-based solutions using a centralized database
The latest privacy and security technologies, delivering powerful encryption safeguards
Ability to share and review Z-Sign and architectural drawings, adding your own comments
Save time with access to specific folders and documents in seconds, no loss of records
I believe blockchain-based data storage is critical to improving cybersecurity, and I invite you to learn more about Z-Vault to securely store contracts, data, and documents on blockchain instead of legacy technologies.
Learn more about Z-Vault or connect with me on LinkedIn to start a conversation today!
Advancing technology, advancing sustainability
I have spent much of 2023 talking about technology and the exciting progress we’ve seen in artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain this year. But at ZorroSign, we are committed to advancing technology while advancing sustainability—and I want to focus on those sustainability efforts today.
I have been fortunate to travel the world, attending educational institutions from Boston to New York, Toronto to Vancouver, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. This global education not only made me feel like a citizen of the world, but it also opened my eyes to both the beauty of our planet and the damage humans can do it. No matter your individual politics on climate change, we can all agree that conserving natural resources will benefit our children and the human generations to follow. As such, we have a role in sustaining natural resources as effectively as we can during our time as stewards of our home planet.
I founded ZorroSign not just to improve data democratization, privacy, and security as we move to 21st century digital economies, but also to improve sustainability.
Aspiring to a digital, paperless life allows all of us to potentially save trees, save water, and reduce our carbon footprints. Businesses, governments, educational institutions, organizations, and individuals who use ZorroSign go digital and so “go green”: Creating, approving, sharing, executing, and storing digital agreements, documents, and transactions instead of printing, faxing, scanning, and shipping documents to collect signatures, then storing multiple hard copies forever in filing cabinets.
This environment savings is critically valuable—not only to the ZorroSign users who save costs and save resources, but to everyone else on Earth who benefit from those same savings!
To accelerate this value, I have committed ZorroSign to several international conservation efforts, hoping to additionally replenish those natural resources already consumed. For example . . .
Save a Tree. Plant a Tree
Through our Save a Tree. Plant a Tree program, ZorroSign has pledged to plant a new 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. Studies show that by reducing the use of paper, we can realize significant environmental benefits such as conserving water, reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality, and reducing deforestation. So by using ZorroSign in human resources, financial, legal, sales, and other departments, you can not only save trees (and watch your cost of doing business go down), but you are also helping replant trees to reforest the planet.
One Tree Planted
Since 2014, the non-profit organization One Tree Planted has more than doubled the number of trees planted each year. The NPO works with partners across more than 80 countries in North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific to drive global reforestation. One Tree Planted makes it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees: Restoring forests, creating habitat for biodiversity, and making a positive social impact around the world.
ZorroSign has been an active partner since 2018, and we give to One Tree Planted in the hopes of inspiring other businesses to include such reforestation as part of their sustainability efforts. To learn more about this incredible program, visit OneTreePlanted.org
United Nations’ Plant for the Planet
In 2004, Wangari Maathai, a professor and member of Kenya’s Parliament, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her role as the founder of the Green Belt Movement. In 2006, Professor Maathai launched a billion-tree campaign, with the United Nations Environment Program called Plant for the Planet. That program achieved their goal and now runs the Trillion Tree Campaign!
Again, ZorroSign is a proud contributor to the Trillion Tree Campaign and invites you to learn more about this growing UN effort at Plant-for-the-Planet.org
Supply Chain Traceability and Transparency
Beyond these conservation programs, “blockchain has significant potential to support sustainability, and it may prove to be a valuable tool to help companies advance environmental goals,’ notes PwC.
For example, blockchain technologies like ZorroSign help create more transparent and traceable supply chains. Such traceability can reduce waste and improve the sustainability of products and materials. A company might use blockchain to track the source and movement of raw materials, ensuring that they are being sourced sustainably and ethically. This enables consumers to make more informed choices about the products they buy, and encourages companies to adopt more sustainable practices.
“Blockchain will prove to be the ultimate answer to supply chain transparency,” explains Rhonda Dibachi for Forbes. “Requiring that suppliers accept APIs is one way of gaining visibility in a world where no digital architecture currently exists for it. To get beyond the self-contained bubble of the connected factory to the next step—a connected supply chain—you have to invite your suppliers in, and the blockchain offers a mechanism for the trust that will be required. That’s why blockchain will be the ultimate solution for all sorts of business that requires trust.”
“Blockchain’s role in helping the environment can go far beyond energy footprints and carbon credits as well,” adds CoinDesk in a recent article. “We expect to see an increasing number of sustainability-focused systems launching in 2023, where things like water usage or plastic creation could similarly be tracked and reported. Governments and regulators could create clear standards for what levels of environmental impact are acceptable across various industries and utilize these blockchain systems to monitor them. This would not only benefit the planet itself, but it would also streamline business processes via clear expectations for emissions. Even electrical grids can be managed via blockchains and smart contracts.”
COP28 in Dubai
Last but not least, I’d like to promote the 2023 Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — COP28. This global event will be hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates this November 30th through December 12th, and I am thrilled to attend!
COP28 UAE promises to be a milestone moment when the world will take stock of progress on the Paris Agreement—a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted at COP21 in Paris, France, December 2015 and entered into force November 2016.
To learn more about this year’s event, including opportunities to participate, visit COP28.com
Finally, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn to discuss how your technology leadership can support sustainability and environmental conservation as well.
The introduction of web3 has redefined the ways providers and customers interact in both the digital and physical world across many industries. The healthcare industry is no exception to this, so let’s look at some key ways that web3 technologies are changing the healthcare industry for better patient experiences . . .
Data Ownership
When it comes to healthcare, most people have multiple doctors and facilities that they count on to keep their data secure and store their records. Further, most patients do not have direct access to their healthcare records and have to go through healthcare professionals to obtain their records. This can be both frustrating and time-consuming for the patient.
“With Web 3.0, patients’ data can be stored on the blockchain using smart contracts” says a Med-Tech article, ”Any healthcare professional that needs to work with the patient can easily access the data by obtaining a public key or unique ID, eliminating the need for institutionalized data silos fenced off from the patient. In addition, this relieves hospital administrations of information overload due to the management of thousands of patient records.”
Web3 paves the way to accessible, efficient, and patient-centered healthcare. It introduces blockchain technology, which allows patients to have more ownership and control over their health data. Patients can also seamlessly share data with healthcare providers, reducing redundant tests and streamlining care. It enables the healthcare system to be patient-centric while also decentralizing data by transferring ownership to individuals.
Data Security
“95% of identity theft comes from stolen healthcare records,” according to an article by techjury. This statistic is shocking to hear considering an individual is more likely than not to have given their personal information at some point and time to a medical facility. It calls attention to the need to move away from the centralized storage system that most healthcare industry vastly relies on and move towards decentralization.
Blockchain is at the core of web3 and this enables healthcare professionals to store patient securely with immutable digital ledger technology. The healthcare data records are distributed over nodes, so an attacker would need access to each node in the network to hack, alter or delete the data, which is nearly impossible. Moreover, accessing the data needs the patients’ permission. Due to blockchain’s peer-to-peer consensus for changes, tampering with the data is also nearly impossible. This allows healthcare providers to store sensitive information securely with less fear of data breaches.
Blockchain’s immutable ledger also ensures the authenticity and integrity of medical records. Patients can trust that their health data has not been tampered with. This transparency fosters trust between patients and healthcare providers, enhancing peace of mind.
Telemedicine and Web3
Telehealth has been on the rise since 2020. According to Telehealth.gov, “Telemedicine, or telehealth, essentially lets your health care provider care for you without an in-person office visit. Telehealth is done primarily online with internet access on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.” Since the COVID19 pandemic, telehealth has jumped in both the volume of technology solutions and applications across medical fields.
Web3 technologies enable decentralized and secure data networks. Patients have more control over their data and therefore are more confident to share it online with medical professionals. With such convenience, security, and connectivity, the future of telemedicine looks bright!
ZorroSign is proud to be on the forefront of deploying web3 technologies—such as AI and blockchain—to improve patient experience in the healthcare industry with our data security platform built on blockchain. To learn how ZorroSign can supports healthcare by facilitating and securing the exchange of digital data, visit our Healthcare industry page or contact us today!
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 Solutions’ Rajab Ali Virani and ZorroSign’s Shamsh Hadi signing partnership agreement
“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
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!
Diana asked questions about mentorship and the panelists’ experiences with structured and unstructured mentorship in their careers. Some of them admitted they struggled to find women mentors and were grateful to the men who had offered guidance and support early in their careers. They often found they themselves had to become mentors to other women, as structured opportunities for mentorship in their industries simply wasn’t common.
Diana next asked about examples of global leadership for women, and how the panelists perceived current leadership around the world. All of us agreed greater integrity was needed of leaders, as well the courage to stand up for truth and righteousness—even when such opinions might be unpopular.
I was able to contribute some sobering statistics on women’s leadership in the technology industry, including:
Women make up just 27.6% of the tech industry workforce
Over 50% of women in tech report harassment and sexism
Only 11% of women in tech serve in management roles
50% of women in tech leave their job before the age of 35 due to lack of job advancement
And 30% of women over age 35 are still in junior tech positions, compared to just 5% of men
Diana then asked the panelists how they had thrived in industries typically dominated by men: Lexie in aviation, Rangina in Afghanistan government, Martha in biochemistry, and Tracey in electronics manufacturing. All of the women found a strong belief in themselves, a resolve to overcome all obstacles, and to succeed in fields they loved despite the lack of women’s leadership in those fields. As such, they made themselves leaders and so hope their successes can inspire other women to believe in themselves as well.
Finally, Diana closed the panel asking how we might make progress faster in women’s leadership. We readily shared the perspective that allies and mentors help speed progress, as well as continuing education and an ability to define leadership on your own terms—not necessarily the historical or patriarchal perspectives on what it means to lead.
I was thrilled to be included in this important discussion, and hope my contributions were encouraging to the women on the panel and the women in the audience, hearing these real-world stories of opportunities and obstacles, setbacks and success. It was an uplifting event and I am so grateful to the Global Chamber—and my colleagues on the panel—for this chance to advance and support global leadership for women!
Digital Transformation in the Healthcare Industry
Over the past decade there is no question that the healthcare industry has experienced profound transformation when it comes to technology. This shift has brought enhanced patient care and streamlined processes.
One prominent advancement in technology for healthcare was the created of electronic health records, or EHRs. Healthit.gov defines an EHR as “a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. EHRs have becomes an instrumental technological advancement through the way they can:
“Contain a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory and test results,
“Allow access to evidence-based tools that providers can use to make decisions about a patient’s care, and
”Automate and streamline provider workflows.”
One of the main reasons EHRs were created was to ensure health information can be created and shared across authorized providers in a digital format readily managed by multiple health care organizations. This allows for a broader network of communication and sharing between medical professionals seeking to diagnose and treat individual patients.
Another remarkable technology advancement has been the rise of telemedicine. According to Telehealth.gov, “Telemedicine, or telehealth, essentially lets your health care provider care for you without an in-person office visit. Telehealth is done primarily online with internet access on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.” Since the pandemic, telehealth has jumped in both the volume of technology solutions and applications across medical fields.
A third example of emerging healthcare technologies can be found in wearables. “With an aging population in much of the developed world, wearables can be effective at prevention of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, by helping patients to monitor and improve their fitness,” notes Proclinical.
Wearable healthcare devices for monitoring and diagnostics are a kind of internet of medical things (IoMT) or healthcare IoT that facilitates remote patient monitoring (RPM) and supports telemedicine. “IoMT enables the use of new technology that facilities patient self-service and minimizes the need for in-person visits,” explains TechTarget. “Consumer-grade wearables give patients access to data that they might traditionally have had to go to a doctor to get.”
The convergence of healthcare and technologies such as these has paved the way for a new era of efficiency, accessibility, and innovation—redefining the way we approach medical services and patient data.
Importance of HIPPA Compliance and Data Security with the Advancement of Technology
With the rise of EHRs, telemedicine, wearables, and other healthcare technologies, there is a growing concern for data security and compliance. This is especially true in the healthcare industry where the data is always personal, and data privacy and security are mandated by law—specifically in the United States with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
The importance of safeguarding patient data in accordance with HIPAA regulations has driven the development of robust security measures, encryption protocols, and strict access controls. To maintain HIPAA compliance, digital technologies have regular security audits and updates to identify vulnerabilities and ensure that the systems adhere to the latest security standards.
On top of HIPPA compliance, platforms that manage data security healthcare may bolster data privacy and security by leveraging:
Blockchain technologies —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.
Identity as a Service (IDaaS) — offering a comprehensive solution that addresses identity management, authentication, access control, and compliance, contributing to a more secure healthcare system.
Passwordless authentication — by eliminating the vulnerabilities associated with passwords and delivering a seamless user experience, passwordless authentication methods improve data protection, compliance, and overall cybersecurity in healthcare environments.
ZorroSign Delivers HIPAA-compliant Privacy with the Elevated Security of a Web3 Platform
At ZorroSign, our HIPAA-compliant data security platform built in blockchain supports healthcare organizations with digital records, digital signatures, and document workflows.
Our platform ensures superior privacy and security with blockchain, IDaaS, and passwordless authentication, plus:
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
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
ZorroSign is just one of the new technologies driving improvements in healthcare and expanding the patient services that healthcare providers can deliver.
To learn how ZorroSign can support your healthcare organization’s data privacy and security, visit our Healthcare industry page or contact us today!
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.
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:
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!
Blockchain has emerged as a transformational technology in various industries over the last few years. When it comes to legal services, blockchain technologies can support the privacy, security and document management requirements vital to law firms, legal departments, and attorneys.
Here are some ways blockchains can revolutionize legal services and offer a multitude of benefits to enhance efficiency, security and trust in legal operations worldwide.
Smart Contracts
Blockchain technology incorporating smart contracts, for example, can automate the process of creating, executing and managing contracts. Smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms and conditions directly written into code, can be stored and executed on the blockchain. This hard-coded contract management eliminates the need for intermediaries, reduces the risk of fraud, and ensures transparency.
Smart contracts also have the potential to revolutionize dispute resolution within the legal system. In the event of a disputed agreement or terms, the transparency and auditability of smart contracts enable quick and efficient resolution. Parties involved can rely on the immutable records stored on the blockchain to validate the final state of the contract and ensure fair outcomes.
“The advent of blockchain technology and smart contracts presents a unique opportunity for the legal industry to evolve and adapt to the demands of the digital age,” notes a recent CityLife article. Legal professionals can thus benefit from using blockchain technology that enables the creation, storage, and execution of smart contracts, ensuring secure and tamper-proof agreements, while advancing their client services.
Immutable Document Management
Legal services heavily rely on accurate and trustworthy evidence. Blockchain’s immutability and transparency make it the ideal solution for managing legal documents and data in digital formats. 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 and to their commitments. This can be especially important in cases of complex, multi-party contracts, where it can be difficult to track and manage all of the different activities and obligations.
Blockchain “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.”
The legal industry rests on maintaining accurate and trustworthy records and evidence. Blockchain’s immutability and transparency make it an ideal technology for document management and evidence preservation for law firms, legal departments, and attorneys.
Digital Identity Verification
In one more example, identity verification is a fundamental aspect of work done in legal services, whether it involves client onboarding, compliance, notarization, or other agreements between strangers. Blockchain technology can streamline these processes by enabling decentralized and secure digital identity verification through blockchain-based identity solutions.
“Blockchain-based identity has the potential to offer increased security, privacy, and efficiency in various industries, including banking, supply chain management, and voting,” notes Jay Speakman in a new Be In Crypto article. “By creating a decentralized and tamper-proof identity application, blockchain can reduce the risk of identity theft and fraud while providing users with more control over their personal data.”
With such technologies, individuals control their personal information via blockchain, granting access to specific details only when they choose to share. This not only enhances privacy and creates a relationship of trust, but as mentioned above, can greatly reduce identity theft and fraud.
ZorroSign For Legal Services
ZorroSign’s data security platform built on blockchain technology is just what your legal team needs to take the privacy and security of your law firm to the next level. To learn more about how ZorroSign supports attorneys, and how blockchains elevate legal services, visit our Legal industry page or contact ZorroSign today!
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!
