A digital signature, often referred to as advanced or standard version of electronic signature, that provides the highest levels of security and universal acceptance.
Digital signatures are based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology, and guarantee signer identity and intent, data integrity, and the non-repudiation of signed documents. The digital signature cannot be copied, tampered with or altered
In addition, because digital signatures are based on standard PKI technology, they can be validated by anyone without the need for proprietary verification software.
On the other hand, there is no standard format for electronic signatures that may be a digitized image of a handwritten signature, a symbol, voiceprint, etc., used to identify the author(s) of an electronic message.
An electronic signature is vulnerable to copying and tampering, and invites forgery. In many cases, electronic signatures are not legally binding and will require proprietary software to validate the e-signature.