CHENNAI: To ensure the authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality of documents, the state government will introduce a new digital signing and encryption utility in its e-procurement system.

A senior Information Technology (IT) department official said that currently, procurement for various people and student welfare schemes is being done through e-tenders, even in the School and Higher Education departments.

The official added that the latest digital signing and encryption utility proposed for the e-procurement system will enhance the security and authenticity of the documents used in the process.

He elaborated that by creating a unique 'signature' using the sender's private key, the data is transformed into an unreadable format, helping keep the authenticity of the document intact. Only the intended recipient with the correct key can access the information.

The official said the encrypted data can then be transmitted securely, which protects sensitive information from unauthorized access, besides verifying the sender's identity and ensuring the message hasn't been tampered with.

Accordingly, the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) will be generated for the valid user. "Transactions that are done using the internet if signed using a DSC becomes legally valid", he said, adding, "Digital Signatures are legally admissible in a court of law under the provisions of the IT Act."

K Shankaran, an IT professional seasoned in software tools, said that during the manual tender process, the documents may get lost or be tampered with. "However, the new digital signing system will ensure that documents of both officials and bidders will be safe," he added.

Pointing out that in future, the tender process will be much more transparent and 100 per cent error-free if the new system is put in place, he insisted that the raining should be given to the bidders for operating the new digital signing and encryption utility and accordingly, common online training programme could also be launched by the government.