Howdy, not sure if this is the right place to ask but I figured this community has the best chance of using libreoffice. I recently started to learn about gpg and decided to try to digitally sign an odf file I created via libreoffice writter. Thought I could do the same with a pdf file but turns out you need a third party ca certification, so now I'm wondering, assuming only open formats can be signed, why even sign an odf file in the first place? Is it just for niche situations or do official/mainstream entities now support that format? Would it be considered legally binding? I heard that microsoft office gained support for the odf format back in 2021 so if the digital signature could still be verified on their end then I don't see a problem. Is that the case? My bad for all the questions I'm just trying to see the usecase for this seems to me that for anything professional signing with a third party ca cert. would be the better option.

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[–] gerbilOFdoom@beehaw.org 24 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The point of a digital signature is to announce that you made this document, as it exists at the time of writing. Once a change is made it should no longer identify as signed.

Most institutions don't use this functionality, despite the usefulness of it. At present, I'd recommend using it for publicly distributed files to protect against bad actors publishing a document that pretends to be yours.

As for legally binding, ask a lawyer. Generally, things are legally binding if they're signed by all parties. The specifics get funky, but a digital signature is a solid step for announcing that you did this thing at this datetime and a judge should recognize that if it comes down to it. Bonus points if all parties attach their digital signatures.

[–] Extrasvhx9he 5 points 1 year ago

Thank you so much that answered all my questions