The Technology Behind the Seal: How Encryption and Identity Verification Work

AES-256 • KBA • Credential Analysis • Tamper-Evident Seal

The Digital Fortress Protecting Your Notarization
256

AES encryption bits

99.9%

KBA success rate

10+

Years: recording retention

100%

Tamper-evident seal

🛡️ When you click "submit" for an online notarization, you're not just sending a document—you're entering a secure, encrypted digital environment.

Behind the simple video call interface lies a sophisticated stack of security technologies: Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA), credential analysis, and AES-256 encryption. This guide explains how these technologies work together to create a tamper-evident, legally binding digital record.

🧱 Four Core Security Technologies

AES-256 Encryption

Advanced Encryption Standard

  • • 256-bit key — Current industry gold standard
  • • Used by U.S. government for Top Secret data
  • • Protects documents in transit and at rest
  • • Symmetric encryption: same key encrypts/decrypts
2^256 possible keys — more than atoms in the universe
🔐 FIPS 140-2 compliant
Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA)

"Out-of-wallet" questions

  • • Questions derived from public records
  • • Previous addresses, vehicles, loans
  • • Real-time verification against credit databases
  • • 4-5 questions, must answer 80% correctly
Instant, automated — no pre-registration required
🆔 Identity proofing
Credential Analysis

Government ID verification

  • • AI-powered document authentication
  • • Detects forgery, tampering, expiration
  • • Hologram, microprint, UV verification
  • • Face match (selfie vs. ID photo)
NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 compliance
📸 Real-time validation
Tamper-Evident Seal

Digital signature + audit trail

  • • Cryptographic hash of final document
  • • Any modification breaks the seal
  • • Includes timestamp, notary info, transaction ID
  • • Verifiable by any PDF reader
Makes document "self-authenticating"
🔏 Legal presumption of validity

⚙️ The Security Workflow

1

Upload

AES-256 encrypted transmission

2

Credential Scan

ID authentication + facial match

3

KBA Challenge

Out-of-wallet questions

4

Live Session

Encrypted video + recording

5

Seal & Deliver

Tamper-evident PDF + audit log

🔐 AES-256: The Gold Standard

In Transit

TLS 1.3

AES-256-GCM or AES-256-CBC. Perfect forward secrecy. Protects against man-in-the-middle attacks.

At Rest

AES-256

All documents and recordings stored with AES-256 encryption. Keys managed in FIPS 140-2 Level 3 HSMs.

Audit Trail

SHA-256

Cryptographic hash of every action. Immutable record of who did what, when, and from where.

How it works: AES-256 uses a 256-bit key to transform plaintext into ciphertext. Without the key, a brute-force attack would require 2^256 attempts—computationally impossible with current technology.

📋 KBA: The "Out-of-Wallet" Test

✅ Sample Questions

  • • "Which of these streets have you lived on?"
  • • "What year was your auto loan opened?"
  • • "Which of these is your current mortgage servicer?"

⚠️ Privacy Protected

  • • Notary never sees answers
  • • Only "pass/fail" result shared
  • • Questions generated in real-time

📊 Success Rate

Legitimate users pass KBA 95-99% of the time. Fraudsters fail rapidly.

🆔 Credential Analysis: How It Works

1. Document Capture

User uploads photo of government ID (driver's license, passport).

2. Forensic Analysis

AI checks security features: holograms, microprint, UV, font consistency, barcode data.

3. Facial Match

User takes selfie; biometric comparison to ID photo.

4. Liveness Detection

Ensures real person, not photo or video replay.

🔏 The Tamper-Evident Seal

✅ How to Verify

  • 1. Open PDF in Adobe Reader
  • 2. Click the signature panel
  • 3. View "Signature is VALID"
  • 4. Check timestamp & notary info

❌ What Tampering Looks Like

  • • "Document has been altered"
  • • Red X on signature panel
  • • Invalid timestamp

Legal effect: A tamper-evident seal creates a presumption of authenticity under NJ law. The burden shifts to the party challenging the document to prove it has been altered.

Security You Can Trust

Digital Notary's platform combines these technologies to exceed New Jersey's rigorous legal standards. Every session is encrypted, every identity is verified, and every seal is tamper-evident.

Notary near me GMB Github Repositary
Tech tip: AES-256 encryption is the same standard used by the NSA to protect classified information. Your notarized documents are secured at the highest possible level.