SmartTender Advice

In recent days, the team of SmartTender.biz has received a huge number of questions about the cancellation of the EDS and the transition of taxpayers to the QES.

SmartTender Advice

Until December 31, 2021, private business representatives will be able to use QESs based on qualified public key certificates and stored on unprotected devices. We talked about this in more detail in the previous article.

Today we want to review this critical security issue once again and explain why we recommend that private businesses do not delay obtaining a QES on secure media.

Security of Your Personal Data

An electronic signature is your identifier, and therefore it must be kept completely safe. With the development of modern technologies, the threat of theft or copying of data is increasing/ And it is precisely to prevent possible risks that the Law "On electronic trust services" introduced the requirement to store QESs on protected media. Obtaining a token today is a guarantee of the security of your data.

Take Care of Yourself in the Future

Among the work hassle, you risk forgetting about the need to switch to tokens, and in the future, it will cost you extra nerves. For this reason, it is better to apply for a secure device now to make the transition in a mode that is comfortable for you and not return to this question again.

Clarification for Public Procurement Participants

Please note that by the provisions of the Law "On electronic trust services" and the Law "On public procurement", public procurement customers have no right to require you to use the QES on the token to sign a tender offer or individual documents. If by December 31, 2021, you see such an item in the conditions of the tender documents, please contact the customer at the stage of submitting proposals with a request to correct the discriminatory condition.

But even under such conditions, we still recommend not to wait until December 31, 2021, but to get the QES on the token as early as possible.

What Are the Advantages of the Token

Why does the Law "On electronic trust services" require the use of tokens? Because today these devices are one of the safest carriers of personal data.

SmartTender Advice

Outwardly, the token looks like a regular flash drive and is also connected to a computer using a USB port. But its main external difference is that it has a unique inventory number, which makes it possible to identify it. By this number, each token is approved by the State Service for Special Communications and is registered with it.

The token contains a built-in hardware and software tool for data protection, which does not allow opening and copying a file recorded on the medium (thanks to this, the QES is stored only by the owner in a single copy). But even if the attackers manage to copy the signature, this tool provides another advantage of the token, thanks to which your QES will not be accepted from any other device: when signing documents, the electronic document management service reads not only the key file itself, but also the parameters of its carrier, and if they do not match – refuses to sign.

The token is password protected and has a limit on the number of combinations input. After entering the password incorrectly 7 times, the device is locked.

Thus, by ordering a QES on a token, you do not receive an ordinary file that you can carelessly send by mail and store on your computer, but a full-fledged protected device that contains your unique data.

Take care of the security of your data and win with SmartTender.biz!