The Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) publishes a review of trust services market in 2019. This review provides information on the most popular trust services (i. e. creation of qualified electronic signature certificates) in Lithuania, market changes and the use of qualified electronic signature, it also includes the services of the creation of qualified electronic signature certificates and qualified electronic time stamps.
According to the data available to RRT, Lithuania is experiencing an increasing interest in the qualified electronic signature, the legal status of which is equivalent to a handwritten signature. During 2019, the number of qualified electronic signature certificates issued to Lithuanian residents increased by 68% (926,164 certificates were valid at the end of 2018, and 1,555,048 at the end of 2019). The fastest growth was of the number of users of mobile electronic signature (when certificates were issued with SIM cards or Smart-ID) which in 2019 increased by almost 3.3 times and now mobile electronic signature constitutes a major part (881 267 certificates or 57%) of all qualified electronic signature instruments issued to the residents of Lithuania.
Population survey data also show a steady increase in the use of electronic signatures. In 2019, 23% of the Lithuanian population used an electronic signature, while in 2014, according to a survey conducted in that year, only 6% of the population used a qualified electronic signature. Users of electronic signatures most often signed using the Smart-ID mobile app (almost every other or 48 percent), SIM card (39 percent) or identity card (27 percent). In 2019, another smart card or USB cryptographic key to sign was used by 15% of respondents.
In 2020, the use of qualified electronic signature is likely to continue to grow due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania and the rest of the world, as remote working of most institutions and companies increases the volume of electronic services and raises an interest in various previously less popular trust services and their application. In order to operatively assess the impact of quarantine on the use of electronic signatures, in April of 2020 RRT conducted a population survey, the data of which show that in April of this year the number of persons using electronic signatures increased by 6 percentage points (up to 29%).
The entire review of trust services market of 2019 is published on: https://elektroninisparasas.lt/en/market-reviews-and-reports/.