My biggest concern, when using your service to certify my emails, is to ensure that the service and the evidence you build are both recognized by third parties. Is eEvidence backed by regulatory frameworks?
eEvidence acts as a third party to provide electronic evidence of any email communication, based on electronic signatures. Most countries around the world now regulate and acknowledge the use of electronic signatures.
European Union
eEvidence is an electronic registered delivery service in compliance with the Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services ("eIDAS").
In July 1st, 2016, the Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services ("eIDAS") came into force. Amongst its goals, to set a common regulatory framework in the definition and identification of trusted services for electronic transactions. Under the Regulation, eEvidence is defined as an "electronic registered delivery service":
«a service that makes it possible to transmit data between third parties by electronic means and provides evidence relating to the handling of the transmitted data, including proof of sending and receiving the data, and that protects transmitted data against the risk of loss, theft, damage or any unauthorised alterations.» (Article 3.36).
to add that:
«Data sent and received using an electronic registered delivery service shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements of the qualified electronic registered delivery service.» (Article 43.1).
Under the eIDAS Regulation, eEvidence is regarded as a trust service whose goal is to provide electronic evidences of the contents and delivery of email messages. To achieve this, we validate the sender's address ownership and we use electronic signatures and qualified time stamps to guarantee the integrity of the evidence receipt.
United States of America
The United States has two laws that regulate the legal admission of electronic signatures:
These two frameworks give electronic signatures the same validity and legal effects as to traditional mediums such as paper contracts with handwritten signatures.
Rest of the World
There are different organizations that have set up guidelines to the international use of electronic signatures, including the OCDE, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
In line with how this has been approached in the European Union and in the United States, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, New Zeeland, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Venezuela fully validate electronic signatures or acknowledge its use.
What makes an electronic evidence?
According to the Wikipedia:
Digital evidence or electronic evidence is any probative information stored or transmitted in digital form that a party to a court case may use at trial. Before accepting digital evidence a court will determine if the evidence is relevant, whether it is authentic, if it is hearsay and whether a copy is acceptable or the original is required. (Casey, Eoghan (2004). Digital Evidence and Computer Crime, Second Edition).
Applied to the eEvidence email evidence:
What does questioning eEvidence imply
You will find it hard to obtain any other electronic evidence for your emails and files, simpler, stronger and altogether more convincing than an eEvid.
The eEvidence method is the result of seamlessly combining several technology standards in force worldwide: Internet communication protocols, digital signature schemes and cryptography hash functions, all assembled together. None one can question the method without questioning the standards in which it is based.