How to digitally sign Aruba

Were you pondering the purchase of an Aruba digital signature kit but not sure how to proceed? Are you still not convinced that you actually need such a tool? Do not worry. If you want, I can clarify all the doubts you have about the digital signature and I can explain how to digitally sign Aruba. This is much simpler than you think.

Let’s start with the concept of digital signature. The digital signature, as the name suggests, is a tool that allows you to sign electronic documents by assigning them a legal value. It is based on three fundamental principles: that of authenticity (as it testifies to the identity of the person who signs a document), that of integrity (as it ensures the integrity of the signed documents) and that of “non-repudiation” (that is, it prevents that a signed document can be “repudiated” by the person who signed it) and can be useful to both professionals and private citizens. Its cost is quite low, but not as cheap as that of the PEC.

About PEC : woe to confuse the digital signature with certified e-mail. The PEC is only used to assign a legal value to communications made via email and not to sign documents. To tell the truth, a distinction should also be made between digital signature and electronic signature, but I want to talk about this in a specific chapter of the tutorial. What do you say, shall we start now? There is so much to say on the matter!

Index

• Fundamental concepts: digital signature and electronic signature
• How the Aruba digital signature works
• Aruba digital signature kit
• How to have the Aruba digital signature
• How to use the Aruba digital signature

Fundamental concepts: digital signature and electronic signature

As just mentioned, digital signature and electronic signature are not the same thing. Or rather, the digital signature is a more advanced and secure type of electronic signature, as it is bound by stricter security standards.

To simplify the matter as much as possible, we can say that the electronic signature is a basic signature whose validity is not guaranteed in absolute terms and must be evaluated, case by case, by a judge. The digital signature , on the other hand, has a certain legal value. This is because it is carried out with qualified means (eg the kits sold by Aruba) which allow us to be sure about the identity of the signatories and about the integrity of the signed documents.

Going even more specifically, there are two forms of digital signature: the qualified electronic signature which is the one I just told you about (simplistically defining it “digital signature) and digital electronic signature which adds to the guarantees of the qualified electronic signature an asymmetric encryption system. By purchasing a digital signature kit from Aruba, you will have a qualified signature, therefore with certain legal value.

A CNS (National Service Card) certificate is also included in many Aruba kits . It is a certificate through which it is possible to authenticate on the services of the Public Administration, such as those related to the Revenue Agency and INPS. The CNS is also mandatory for some categories of professionals, such as lawyers who must identify themselves on the Telematic Services Portal of the Ministry of Justice.

How the Aruba digital signature works

If you have decided to buy an Aruba digital signature kit and want to find out briefly what is the process you need to follow, here is a quick summary of the steps you will need to take (which we will analyze in more detail later).

1. Purchase the digital signature kit – the first step you need to take is to choose the Aruba signature kit to purchase. As we will see shortly, there are several kits and they have different prices. In principle, they all contain a smart card (in SIM card or credit card format) with the signature and CNS certificates inside and a smart card reader that can be in USB or desktop format. Depending on the kit chosen, the signature software can be supplied “as standard” or must be downloaded “manually” from the Aruba website.
2. Identification– during the kit purchase procedure you must choose how to verify your identity, an essential operation in order to activate the signature certificates. Identification can take place at public offices, courier offices or at home (I’ll talk about it in more detail shortly).
3. Activation of the kit– after receiving the kit and verifying your identity, you must activate the Aruba signature kit by connecting to the company’s website and providing the requested information.
4. Signature Software Download– If you purchased a kit that does not include digital signature software, you need to connect to the Aruba site and download it to your computer. Also, if your kit needs drivers to work, you need to download those as well. Fortunately, it’s all free.
5. Using the kit– after completing all the above operations, you can finally use your kit and digitally sign your documents.
6. Kit renewal– 3 years after purchase you will need to renew the signature certificate following the instructions available on the Aruba website .

Is everything clear so far? Well, let’s go into more detail and better analyze the steps to take to digitally sign Aruba .

Aruba digital signature kit

Listed below are all Aruba’s digital signature kits and their prices. To choose which one to buy, you need to carefully consider your needs and your budget requirements.

• Aruba Key– it is a 2GB USB key that includes everything you need to digitally sign documents: the smart card with the qualified signature certificate and the CNS authentication certificate (lasting 3 years), applications to sign and check documents and other applications, such as the Mozilla Firefox browser, the Mozilla Thunderbird email client, and the PDF Read reader. It is compatible with all major computer operating systems (Windows, macOS and Linux) and does not require drivers. It is automatically recognized the first time it is connected to the computer. It costs 61 euros + VAT, to which 10 euros for shipping costs must be added. It is also possible to purchase the key alone without the smart card inside (at a cost of 40 euros + VAT).
• Aruba USB Token– is a USB key that includes the smart card on which there are the qualified signature certificate and the CNS authentication certificate (lasting 3 years). The drivers and signature software must be downloaded separately from the Aruba site, free of charge. It costs 42 euros + VAT, to which 10 euros for shipping costs must be added. It is also possible to buy only the token without a smart card inside (at a cost of 20 euros + VAT).
• Smart card + Aruba reader – this is a kit consisting of a table smart card reader (therefore intended for mainly desktop use) and a credit card-sized smart card containing the digital signature and CNS authentication certificates (lasting 3 years). The drivers and signature software must be downloaded separately from the Aruba site, free of charge. It costs 40 euros + VAT, to which 10 euros for shipping costs must be added. It is also possible to buy just the smart card reader at a cost of 15 euros + VAT.
• SIM Card / Smart Card Aruba– the only smart card in SIM format or credit card with digital signature certificate and CNS authentication (lasting 3 years). It is intended for those who already have a smart card reader and want to save on the purchase of the digital signature kit. The signature software obviously has to be downloaded separately. It costs 25 euros + VAT, to which 10 euros for shipping costs must be added.
• Aruba remote signature kit– by choosing this kit you can digitally sign documents without using physical keys or smart cards. Everything is done remotely via a virtual smart card, an OTP password to be generated via an app, SMS or OTP device (similar to the keys provided by banks to generate disposable PINs) and digital signature software. The kit can be composed only of the service without hardware components (in this way the OTP passwords are generated via smartphone app), the service + an OTP key with display or the service + a USB OTP device to be connected to the PC. It always costs 36 euros + VAT, to which 7 euros must be added for shipping costs.

How to have the Aruba digital signature

When you have found the Aruba signature kit that best suits your needs, you can purchase it directly online by first clicking on the Add to cart button and then on Proceed with the order twice in a row. At this point, create an Aruba account or log in to your account if you already have one and fill in all the forms that are proposed to you.

After providing all your personal data and the data of a valid identity document , you must decide how to verify your identity and then proceed with the activation of the Aruba kit. You can choose between three different modes.

• Face-to-face identification with a Public Official– by selecting this mode, you will have to go to the Municipality with a valid identity document and the documentation you will receive via email from Aruba, you will have to be identified by a Public Official and you will have to authenticate the request for the digital signature by brand stamp duty (to be purchased separately). Next, you will need to send the authenticated documentation to Aruba, which will then activate your digital signature kit.
• Face-to-face identification at Mail Boxes Etc– by choosing this route, you can have the Aruba kit arrive at a Mail Boxes Etc center and you can make the identification directly in the latter. Again, you will need to bring valid ID with you and you will have to pay a small amount to complete the file.
• Face-to-face identification– by choosing this solution, you can be identified directly by the postman who will deliver the Aruba kit to you. You will need to provide a valid identity document and sign all the documents that will be submitted to you.

After choosing an identification method, proceed to pay for the Aruba kit using one of the supported payment methods (e.g. prepaid credit card) and wait patiently for the kit to arrive at your home (or at the Mail Boxes Etc center you have selected ).

After receiving the Aruba digital signature kit and completing the verification process of your identity, you must activate the kit by connecting to this web page , selecting the type of kit you have purchased ( Digital signature and CNS digital signature or Remote signature ) and clicking on the Activate button .

At this point, you must put the check mark next to the two items at the bottom of the page, you must click on the Continue button and you must fill in the form that is proposed to you by typing the serial code of the smart card present in your kit and yours tax code .

When the operation is completed, click on Continue , type in the personal activation code that you should have received via SMS and that’s it.

How to use the Aruba digital signature

Now you are ready to digitally sign Aruba… or almost! If signature software or drivers are not included in your kit, you must first download them to your computer and install them. So connect to the Aruba website and download both the signature software and the drivers necessary for the kit to work (unless you have purchased Aruba Key or another kit that does not require signature software or drivers to work) .

To download the signature software, all you have to do is click on the ArubaSign Software item and then on the link for the operating system installed on your PC (eg Windows ). To download the drivers, on the other hand, you must select both the type of product you need to configure (eg Smart card reader driver – SCM ) and the type of smart card used in the latter (eg Smart card driver – ATHENA ).

The compatibility of Aruba digital signature kits is guaranteed with the following operating systems.

• Windows 10, MS Windows XP, Vista, Seven, Server 2003, Server 2008 (32 and 64 bit), Win 8, Win 8 PRO
• Mac OSX: Lion (10.7.4), Mountain Lion (10.8), Mavericks (10.9), Yosemite (10.10), El Capitan (10.11)
• macOS: Sierra (10.12)
• Linux Ubuntu 12.0.4 (32 bit) – Ubuntu 12.10 (32 bit) – Debian 6.0 – Mint 13 and 14 (32 bit)

When the download is complete, open the installation packages you just downloaded on your computer and follow the wizard that is proposed to you. Usually just click on Next / Next and that’s it. If you need more detailed instructions, please refer to the official Aruba guide .

Once you’ve finished installing the signature drivers and software (which, again, aren’t needed for all kits), you can take action. Then start the Aruba signature software and drag the document you want to sign onto the Signature icon . Alternatively, if you prefer, you can also click on the “Sign” button and “manually” select the file to be signed.

In the window that opens, enter the PIN of your smart card in the appropriate text field, select the destination folder of the signed file by pressing the […] button and choose the type of envelope , that is the type of signature to be applied by appropriate drop-down menu.

You can choose to sign files as a P7M Encryption Envelope (CAdES) or as a PDF file . By choosing the option relating to the P7M encryption envelope you will create a new file in P7M format containing the original document (which can be a PDF, a Word file, a txt file, etc.) plus the files relating to the digital signature; by choosing the signature of the PDF file you can create a new PDF file (starting from an existing PDF file) which also contains the signature. The signature on the PDF can be invisible or visible (graphic) .

From the same screen, you can also set a timestamp , i.e. a timestamp that makes the document valid over time even in the event of revocation or expiration of the digital signature certificate. If you want to know more, consult the official documentation on the Aruba website .

If you want to sign your documents using software other than those included in the Aruba kit (eg Acrobat Reader), you must go to the Utilities menu of the Aruba signature software and click on the certified “Import” icon . This will turn the kit into a normal smart card reader and allow external applications to access digital signature certificates.

If you want to learn more about how the certificate “Import” function works and you want to know, more generally, how digital signature systems work, consult the tutorial on how to digitally sign that I previously published on the blog.