What Is a Digital Signature? And How Can It Protect My Transcript?

This JCR (Journal for the Reporting and Captioning Professions, published by NCRA) feature, “Secrets of the Digital Signature,” pairs two articles on digitally signed transcripts. The first, byline “By Alex Kasperavicius,” walks reporters through what a digital signature actually is — hashing, authentication, integrity, non-repudiation, certificate authorities — and how it differs from a scanned picture of an ink signature, based on a presentation he gave at the 2008 NCRA convention.

The article’s contributor line identifies Kasperavicius as “vice president of technology for Barkley Court Reporters in Los Angeles, Calif.,” writing in that capacity to the broader court-reporting profession about digitally signing and authenticating transcripts.