Introduction

The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool enables the application of digital signatures to PDF documents and their subsequent protection through setting passwords and user authorizations.

Both standard signatures and qualified signatures that use signature cards ("smart cards") can be used.

PDF documents used in professional circumstances contain important information that needs to be protected against misuse and unintentional alteration. This is achieved by protecting PDFs through encryption and user authorization rights.

When exchanging electronic documents the ability to ascertain that a document is authentic and has not been manipulated on its way from sender to recipient is of particular importance. This is only achievable through the use of electronic signatures.

Brief Description

Performance Characteristics

• Fulfillment of the highest security standards
• Use of sophisticated algorithms
• Differentiated assigning of authorizations
• Comprehensive signature management
• PDF/A-compliant digital signing
• High performance
• Low memory space and system resource requirements
• Supports standard signatures and qualified signatures via smart cards

Areas of Use

• Incoming mail
• Outgoing mail
• Archiving
• Digital publishing
• Work process control

Functions

All Versions

• Apply digital signatures
• Apply MDP signatures
• Encrypt and decrypt PDF documents
• Set user rights
• Set crypt filters
• Set stream filters
• Set encryption strength (e.g. 40 bit, 128 bit)
• Set owner password
• Set user password

API Version Only

• Apply multiple signatures
• Extract signatures
• Verify existing signatures
• Set/read signature attributes

C Version Only

• Number of revisions
• Select revision
• PdfReleaseSignature

Sectors

• Software manufacturers / OEM
• Public sector
• Banking and insurance
• Archives and libraries
• Health sector
• Pharmaceutical industry
• Media industry
• Legal sector

Functions

The Security Tool enables users to encrypt and - if the passwords are known - decrypt PDF documents. The tool can set and cancel all known PDF user authorizations. It can, for instance, set an owner password so that only authorized users can edit and change the document. A user password ensures that only authorized users have access to the document's content. The tool's signature module allows the user to apply, read and verify both classic digital signatures and MDP (modification detection and prevention) signatures. The visibility and visual appearance of digital signatures can be adapted to suit requirements. The tool also supports customized signature handlers and types.
 

Functions

All Versions

• Apply digital signatures
• Apply Modification Detection & Prevention (MDP) signatures
• Encrypt and decrypt PDF documents
• Set user authorizations, including:
  • Print document
  • Modify document content
  • Extract or copy content
  • Add comments
  • Fill in form fields
  • Content extraction for accessibility
  • Assemble documents
  • Print in high resolution
  • Set crypt filters
  • Set stream filters
  • Set encryption strength
  • Set owner password
  • Set user password

API Version Only

• Apply multiple signatures
• Set XMP metadata via key value pairs
• Apply signature for preview
• Sign prepared field
• Extract signatures
• Verify existing signatures
• Read/create memory-resident documents
• Set/read signature attributes, including:
  • Name
  • Title
  • Contents
  • Date
  • Signature has been modified (yes/no)
  • Signature field name
  • Background color
  • Frame color
  • Font and font size of the title
  • Font and font size of the content
  • Has a signature (yes/no)
  • Image name
  • Line width of frame
  • Location
  • Page number
  • Reason for the signature
  • Position and size
  • Filters and sub-filters

C Version Only

• Number of revisions
• Select revision
• PdfReleaseSignature

Benefits

Properties and Benefits

The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool is a comprehensive solution for security aspects relating to PDF documents. Firstly, it enables needs-oriented access to information. Secondly, digital signatures on documents are proof of their integrity and authenticity. The tool's compelling features include comprehensive cover for every aspect of PDF security, high performance for processing large volumes and conformity with PDF/A.

The following is a summary of the special properties that set the 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool apart from other solutions:

• There is no need to open PDF documents individually to apply signatures or encryption – that is too impractical for protecting large quantities of documents. The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool offers fully automated document protection and security.
• Manual intervention to protect documents is often undesirable in automated workflow processes – it should occur automatically by simple integration of a component such as the 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool.
• Conventional password protection is inadequate for critical PDF documents – additional security measures such as digital signatures are required and are easy to implement with the 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool.
• The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool securely handles connections to high-security solutions that demand qualified signatures in the form of hardware solutions (smart cards) or other state-of-the-art methods such as MDP (modification detection and prevention).
   

Performance Characteristics

• Fulfillment of the highest security standards
• Use of sophisticated algorithms
• Differentiated assigning of authorizations
• Comprehensive signature management
• PDF/A-compliant digital signing
• High performance
• Low memory space and system resource requirements
• Supports standard signatures and qualified signatures via the use of smart cards

Areas of Use

Archiving

The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool can apply digital signatures or verify signatures and document integrity prior to archiving. With regard to archiving, it should be noted that passwords do not fulfill the PDF/A archiving standard as they can prevent the visual reproduction of the document at a later stage.

Areas of Use

• Incoming mail
• Outgoing mail
• Archiving
• Digital publishing
• Work process control

Miscellaneous

Incoming Mail

• Verify incoming PDF documents to ensure they have not been modified during transmission and were transmitted by an authenticated sender.
• Set user-specific attributes such as "may be printed", "must not be modified" and many more.

Outgoing mail

The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool can encrypt documents prior to dispatch (for instance, apply a password to a credit card order), and apply digital signatures as evidence of the document's origin and unmodified content.

Software Manufacturers / OEM

Signature and encryption solutions are complex. It takes a lot of time to learn and understand the security techniques on which they are based, and they are difficult to implement. Installing the 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool in solutions is quick and easy and keeps the focus on the solution's functionality instead of on the technology behind it.

Media/Publishing

The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool can be used in the publishing sector to protect e-books.

Sectors

• Software manufacturers / OEM
• Public sector
• Banking and insurance
• Archives and libraries
• Health sector
• Pharmaceutical industry
• Media industry
• Protection of rights

Technical details

Architecture and Application Options

Product Variants

• Shell tool (command line for batch processing)
• API (programming interface)
• Windows service (watched directories)

Formats

Input Formats

• PDF 1.x (e.g. PDF 1.4, PDF 1.5)

Target formats

• PDF 1.x (e.g. PDF 1.4, PDF 1.5)

Compliance

• Standards: ISO 32000 (PDF 1.7)

Platforms

Operating Systems

• Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, Windows 7 – 32 and 64 bit
• FreeBSD 4.7 for Intel
• HP-UX 11.0 – 32 bit and Itanium
• IBM AIX (4.3: 32 Bit, 5.1: 64 bit)
• Linux (SuSE and Red Hat on Intel)
• Mac OS X
• Sun Solaris (2.7 and higher)

Interfaces and Languages

Interfaces

• API: C, Java, .NET, COM

For further information please see "Further product details"

Programming Languages

All program libraries are written in efficient and thread-safe C++. API offers a selection of the following connections to programming languages:

• C#, VB .NET, J# via .NET
• Java via JNI
• MS Visual Basic, Borland Delphi, MS Office products such as Access and C++ via COM
• C and C++ via native C

Product Code

• SEC

Further Product Details

The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool can encrypt, decrypt and apply digital signatures to PDF documents.  

The 3-Heights™ PDF Security Tool is particularly suitable for protecting large volume of PDF documents that require digital signatures in addition to standard security functions such as password protection.