Electronic signature security system

Abstract

One embodiment of the invention enhances the security of electronic signatures during transmission. A peripheral device, which may be located remotely and separate from a host processing system, captures the signature. The peripheral device then binds the signature to the particular transaction record and transmits it to the host processing system. The host processing system validates or confirms the received signature before accepting the transaction. Binding the signature and record data together at the point-of-use reduces the likelihood that someone may be able to hack into the transmission medium, encrypted or not, and obtain the raw signature data. By binding or associating the signature and transaction record data together at the point-of-use, each transaction has a unique key, further foiling attempts at hacking. In various implementations, rather than associating the whole signature with the transaction record data, signature sample points or segments are encrypted with transaction record data.