What does PAdES mean?

The term PAdES stands for PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures. It is a technical standard that refers to a group of extensions and restrictions that are used when electronically signing PDF documents.

One important benefit from PAdES is that electronically signed documents can remain valid for long periods, even if underlying cryptographic algorithms are broken. At any time in the future, in spite of technological and other advances, it must be possible to validate the document to confirm that the signature was valid at the time it was signed – a concept known as Long-Term Validation.

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