(a) Business analysis and risk assessment means identifying and evaluating various factors relevant to the selection of an electronic signature for use or acceptance in an electronic transaction. Such factors include, but are not limited to, relationships between parties to an electronic transaction, value of the transaction, risk of intrusion, risk of repudiation of an electronic signature, risk of fraud, functionality and convenience, business necessity and the cost of employing a particular electronic signature process.

(b) Certificate means a data structure used in a public key system to bind a particular authenticated individual to a particular public key conforming to widely used industry standards.

(c) Certification authority means a trusted party in a public key system that vouches for the authenticity of the individual or system in question by issuing certificates that are used for verification of electronic signatures produced by corresponding private keys. For purposes of this subdivision, a trusted party that issues certificates which only the same trusted party uses for electronic signature verification purposes is not considered a certification authority. A certification authority is also commonly referred to as a certificate authority.

(d) Certificate revocation list (CRL) means a publicly available list of certificates that have been revoked before their expiration date.

(e) Cryptographic keys means the items of information used by a given algorithm to transform data into an unreadable format.

(f) Electronic signatory means the person authorized to generate an electronic signature.

(g) Electronic transaction means an action or set of actions occurring through the use of electronic technology by or with a governmental entity.

(h) Governmental entity means any State department, board, bureau, division, commission, committee, public authority, public benefit corporation, council, office, or other governmental entity or officer of the State having statewide authority, except the State Legislature, and any political subdivision of the State.

(i) Material change means a substantial change in the operating practices of a certification authority that affects the issuance, revocation, security, disposition, and any other aspect of the management of a certificate.

(j) Person means a natural person, corporation, trust, estate, partnership, incorporated or unincorporated association or any other legal entity and also includes any department, agency, authority, or instrumentality of the State or its political subdivisions.

(k) Public key, for purposes of public key cryptography, means the key made public for encryption.

(l) Receiving device means any physical or virtual point capable of receiving electronic records including, but not limited to, a website, e-mail address, hardware device or application.

(m) Electronic recording means an electronic process by which digitized paper documents or electronic records affecting real property are delivered to a recording officer for incorporation into the public record.

(n) PRIA means the Property Records Industry Association, located at 110 Horizon Drive, Suite 210, Raleigh, NC 27615.

(o) Recording officer means the county clerk of the county, except in a county having a register, where it means the register of the county.

(p) Registered submitter is a person whose identity has been verified and authenticated by a recording officer prior to the submission of digitized paper documents or electronic records to the recording officer for electronic recording.