OneSpan acquires blockchain provider ProvenDB to improve digital contract security

by Arthur · January 27, 2023

OneSpan Inc., a cybersecurity platform for digital agreements and e-signatures, said Thursday it agreed to acquire ProvenDB, an Australia-based startup that provides secure document storage using blockchain technology.

OneSpan specializes in digital identity and anti-fraud solutions to provide businesses with mechanisms for transaction signing, authentication and e-signature workflows. This includes a platform for tracking and tracing the integrity of artifacts related to digital agreements and transactions for regulated industries such as banking, financial services, healthcare and professional services.

ProvenDB uses blockchain technology, which adds a layer of security to transactions by mirroring them across multiple copies of the ledger that are all protected by cryptographic hashes and designed to be immutable after data is added. When information is added to ProvenDB, digital signatures are generated and recorded, and the secure storage provides proof of document integrity, ownership and time of creation.

OpenSpan intends to use ProvenDB’s blockchain solution in the Transaction Cloud Platform to provide end-to-end assurance that documents have not been tampered with once they are created and stored.

“In this world of evidence tampering and deep counterfeiting, it is critical that we have non-repudiation and copies of the original item with an immutable chain of custody throughout the customer journey,” said Matthew Moynahan, president and CEO of OneSpan.

This includes a cryptographically secure history of document changes. Every time an agreement is changed and signed by the parties involved, the cryptographic hash representing the document changes, and this includes the signatories who confirmed the changes, all of which are in turn secured in the blockchain. All of this becomes part of an immutable and auditable transaction history for the document’s lifecycle.

“Securing business processes end-to-end by leveraging blockchain technology will play an increasingly critical role in preserving the integrity of digital transactions and agreements to power this modern digital era,” Moynahan added.

Most importantly, transaction history immutability and auditability and tamper resistance are important for industries that require compliance with regulations that require the retention of tax records, anti-money laundering documents, financial records and more.

Document authentication using blockchain technology has been explored by a few other platforms over the years. JustChain, a startup based in the United Arab Emirates, built a platform for a blockchain-based legal notary in early 2021. BitFury Group partnered with electronic document company BestSign to operate an electronic document signature platform using blockchain technology in 2017 and blockchain company Factom Inc. has dLoc, a physical document verification and authentication solution.

The two companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement, which is expected to close during the first quarter of 2023.