We will be releasing AssureSign version 2.0.3 to our production environment this week, and I would like to explain some of the more compelling features that will become available to our clients. The primary focus of this release was the addition of security features to enhance our ability to match enterprise-level security needs for some of our clients; we recognize that financial services, healthcare and other industries require a certain level of compliance in regards to security, and we are adding features to meet these needs.

For example, all account security settings regarding site password strength, re-use, expiration, and lockout have been added to a new account security settings section. Included are new pre-set capabilities, as well as the ability to create a custom collection of settings that match your organization’s needs.

Additionally, we have added the powerful ability to require personal X.509 certificates of document signers. Granular settings allow this to be specified per document or across the account. This provides a new layer of irrefutability to documents signed in ongoing business partnerships and in instances where the highest level of security is required.

For our existing clients, documentation has been added for all new settings, and we have introduced another guideline for system administrators entitled "Security Best Practices" which will be made available online with the release. This document provides examples of specific scenarios and explains how security-related settings may be combined to accomplish certain business goals.

To the goal of meeting certain regulatory requirements, we are happy to say that our HIPAA Compliance Plan was formalized by management approval in January; all customer care staff, software engineers and IT department staff have completed HIPAA privacy and security training. Security has always been a primary concern of our organization; this move to address Electronic Protected Health Information illustrates our commitment to addressing the needs of specific industries.