Signaturene

Signaturene is the plural form of signatur (signature) in Norwegian, Danish, and related Scandinavian languages. The term denotes marks or signs used to indicate a person’s identity, assent, or authorship on a document or electronic record.

Historically, signatures were handwritten marks made with ink on paper. They served as a personal verification and binding element in legal and commercial transactions. In many legal systems, a signature creates or signifies consent to the terms of an agreement and can be evidence of intent to be bound.

Electronic and digital signatures broaden the concept. An electronic signature may be any data attached to or logically associated with a record that indicates a signer's intent to agree. A digital signature is a cryptographic mechanism that binds the signer to the data and allows verification of identity and data integrity using a certificate and a public key infrastructure.

Legal status varies by jurisdiction. Under the European Union's eIDAS Regulation, electronic signatures with adequate reliability can have the same legal effect as handwritten ones; in the United States, laws such as UETA and ESIGN govern enforceability. There are also categories such as simple electronic signatures, advanced electronic signatures, and qualified electronic signatures.

Verification and security. Validating a signature involves checking the signer's identity, the integrity of the data, and any applicable audit trails, timestamps, and certificate status. Risks include forgery, tampering, and identity theft. Best practices include using trusted signing platforms, multi-factor authentication, cryptographic signatures when appropriate, and secure storage with immutable logs.

In practice, signaturene appear in contracts, official filings, financial records, software distribution (code signing), and personal documents. They play a key role in authentication, non-repudiation, and efficiency in modern transactions.