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concerns about security and privacy. Are signatures secure? Could their transmission be
intercepted? How can the contents of the Anoto digital pen be protected from malicious users?
Before addressing these concerns, it must be pointed out that these security issues are not
introduced by this new technology. In fact, they are essentially the same concerns that arise
with plain pen and paper: if the signed document can be scanned, then any markings on the
page can be extracted and reused by anyone with even limited technical skills. In addition, the
signed document has, by definition, a longer life span than the temporary storage location of the
digital pen. Consequently, it is still the most vulnerable piece of the workflow and as such, it
should be the first objective of any security effort.
In other words, as long as the physical piece of paper bearing markings is accessible to
malicious users, no amount of security protocols can protect the signed contents. It is only after
the paper trail has been secured that the security and privacy issues specific to PlanetPress
Capture should be addressed.
Because PlanetPress Capture relies on external data and communication and because it may
be used to process sensitive and legal information, it is important to understand the security
implications of any PlanetPress Capture implementation. Most of the security concerns
regarding Capture are external to it. This means the security that is implemented both on your
network and physical premises are critical to the security of your PReS Workflow
implementation.
Here are a few notable points with the security of PlanetPress Capture on a network:
l PGC Files, while not written in plain text, are not encrypted and are readable through
either PReS Workflow (even a server that did not generate the document associated with
it), or through third-party applications using the Anoto SDK. This means if someone gains
access to your PGC storage folder, they may be able to read the signatures, checkmarks
and other information contained in it and reproduce them on a document of their choice. It
is always better to secure this folder properly. You could also use third-party encryption
software to secure the files, and decrypt them as necessary for reprocessing.
l The transfer between the Anoto penDirector and PReS Workflow is not encrypted due to
a limitation of penDirector which does not support SSL connections. This means
someone located anywhere between penDirector and PReS Workflow could use
software such as a packet sniffer to retrieve its parts and recreate the PGC files. This may
be resolvable by create a secure VPN tunnel for each location where penDirector is
installed instead of going through regular remote HTTP server.
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