Is Acrobat digital signature compatible with the French RGS (référentiel général de sécurité) ?

[MCBELANGER]

We have Acrobat Pro XI and we want to answer to a tender from the French governement and they ask us for a digital signature that complies with the Level 2 of the French RGS (référentiel de sécurité).  Do you know if Acrobat digital signature comply with that?  If not, can you help me find a way to get this certificate.  Thanks.

[Andrea Valle]

Hello Marie-Christine,

short answer is yes, Acrobat supports the creation of digital signatures that comply with RGS Level 2 (also known as RGS "Two Star").

There's an important piece of information to add. A digital signature is a cryptographic function that requires a digital certificate to be calculated. The digital certificate (or Digital ID) is the way to attest your identity through the digital signature.

Acrobat supports multiple ways to handle a certificate for signatures: you can use a smart card or USB token, you can use file-based certificates and you can even create your own self-issued certificates. However these mechanisms have different legal value: it's clear that if you create your own certificate you can write whatever identity information in it...

A Level 2 RGS certificate must be based on hardware support and must be issued by an authorized Certificate Authority, an independent identity provider that will proof your identity before issuing a signing certificate including your identity information.

So in order to apply the type of signature you have been required - in case you don't have one already - you first have to procure one of such RGS** certificate from one of the French Certificate Authorities that you can find listed in our AATL and EUTL pages:

Adobe Approved Trust List Members, Acrobat

European Union Trusted Lists

Please ensure they offer certificates and devices that work with Adobe Acrobat and with your PC's Operating System.

Kind regards

Andrea