Definition: The electronic Identification and Signature (eIDAS) Regulation defines a qualified trust service provider (QTSP) as a natural or a legal person who provides one or more qualified trust services.
Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) explained
The purpose of the eIDAS Regulation is to provide a comprehensive cross-border and cross-sector framework for secure, trustworthy, and simple electronic transactions. Qualified trust services are one means to that purpose since their legal value is recognized at the European level.
A QTSP must undergo an independent conformity assessment and audit by an accredited institution (i.e. recognised by the national accreditation body) under the EU eIDAS regulation, which looks at areas such as security, level of trust and quality. These regulations seek to increase consumer and business trust and promote the use of certified trust services.
Usually, the higher cost for qualified services is induced by the reversed burden of proof in any disputes, and for this purpose, the QTSP needs to verify the accuracy of the services.
A trust service consists of:
Creating, verifying and validating electronic signatures, electronic time stamps, as well as certificates related to these services, complying with the requirements established by the eIDAS Regulation.
However, a QTSP who has been granted qualification by a supervisory body can offer a ‘qualified’ version of these services. These Qualified Trust Services are:
- A Qualified Electronic Signature is an advanced electronic signature that is created by a qualified electronic signature creation device and is based on a qualified electronic signature certificate. It must also adhere to the same definition as an Advanced Electronic Signature and:
-The user’s digital certificate must be issued by a trusted Qualified Certificate Authority
-The user’s signing key must be managed within a trusted Qualified Signature Creation Device (QSCD) - A qualified time stamp.- The QTSP provides certainty around the existence of certain electronic data at a specific moment in time, such as evidence of submission of documents for processing, or the issuance of an invoice.
- A qualified electronic seal is an advanced electronic seal, which is created by a qualified electronic seal creation device. - Legal persons and corporations will be able to authenticate an automated administrative action, such as the mass signing of official documents.
Using the services of a Qualified Trust Service Provider means that an organization:
- Considerably reduces the risk of electronic transactions
- Is highly insured against disputes, meaning less liability for the company
- Have assurance that transactions are legally binding across borders within the EU
- Can receive a higher quality of services.
One of the objectives of the ‘qualified’ status is to achieve cross-border interoperability and recognition of electronic products and trust services across all Member States. As such, a qualified product delivered by a qualified trust service under a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) based in any Member State will be considered as qualified in every Member State.
Utimaco is pleased to confirm that we are a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) under the eIDAS Regulation and is accredited as a QTSP to provide electronic signature and seal validation, and timestamping services and certification to determine validity. This ensures that we adhere to the highest degree of confidence and trustworthiness in our services and comply with the eIDAS regulations requirements for qualified trust services.
Utimaco also provides a Qualified Signature Creation Device that meets the requirements and certification of the eIDAS conformity of qualified signature and seal creation devices of the eIDAS Regulation (Annex II).
