Digital Signature And Electronic Authentication Law "SEAL" of 1998 was introduced to the US Senate, as S.1594, and was followed closely by H.R. 3472 which was introduced to the US House of Representatives. This Bill sought to update the Bank Protection Act of 1968 in regards to electronic authentication techniques by financial institutions and for other purposes.^[1] The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... House of Representatives is a name used for legislative bodies in many countries. ... Authentication is the act of establishing or confirming something or someone as authentic. ... A financial institution acts as an agent that provides financial services for its clients. ...

Sections from the Law

The definition of electronic document described in Sec 3(f) of the SEAL^[1]

(f) DOCUMENT- The term `document' means any message, instrument, information, data, image, text, program, software, database, or the similar item, regardless of how created, if such item can be retrieved or displayed in a tangible form.

Electronic authentication technologies are compliant with Sec 3(g)

(g) ELECTRONIC AUTHENTICATION- The term `electronic authentication' means a cryptographic or other secure electronic technique that allows the user of the technique

Section 6 of the Digital Signature And Electronic Authentication Law (SEAL) states the electronic authentication may be used if an agreement to use them was made by all parties.

(a) ELECTRONIC AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS, INFORMATION, AND IDENTITY-

(1) IN GENERAL- A financial institution may use electronic authentication in the conduct of its business if it has entered into an agreement regarding the use of electronic authentication with any counterparty, or if it has established a banking, financial, or transactional system using electronic authentication.

Forms of Electronic Authentication

• PKI
• Clickwrap
• Biometric
• Security token
• Password

In cryptography, a public key infrastructure (PKI) is an arrangement which provides for third-party vetting of, and vouching for, user identities. ... A clickwrap agreement (also known as a clickthrough agreement or clickwrap license) is a common type of software license found on the Internet. ... At Disney World, biometric measurements are taken of the fingers of multi-day pass users to ensure that the pass is used by the same person from day to day. ... Several types of security tokens. ... A password is a form of secret authentication data that is used to control access to a resource. ...

References

1. ^ ^a b PrivaSign: Digital Signature And Electronic Authentication Law (SEAL) of 1998)

External Links

• Text of the law at the Library of Congress
• Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee discusses SEAL
• SEAL Compliance Issues
• Federal Reserve Bank of New York on SEAL