Electronic Vs. Digital Signatures Glossary7/7/2000; 11:55:55 AM It's been pointed out to me a couple of times, so it's worth explaining to everybody. There is a huge difference between "electronic" and "digital" signatures, even though many people (including me sometimes) have used the terms interchangably.Electronic signatures are the things recently given legal force by the US Federal Government. Essentially, they are the electronic equivalent of a signature on a conventional contract, capable of joining two parties into a legally binding agreement. The problem with the law is the incredibly low requirements on this legally binding signature. See previous coverage.Digital signatures are something else entirely. Digital signatures are placed on specific data, such as an e-mail, web request, or web page. Digital signatures verify that the data has not been tampered with, and can be used to verify that the data came from where it claimed to come from, using interesting, if a bit complicated, technical processes. For an overview, look at this page. Be sure to follow the links in the definition. For a more technical explanation, look at the Crypotgraphy FAQ, or more specifically, the section on digital signatures.At this point in time, the two are totally unrelated. This is unfortunate, as digital signatures could be easily used to enhance the security of electronic signatures, by reducing their forgibility.