A digital signature is the equivalent of a written signature. The primary difference is that it is created electronically through special software. You can think of digital signatures as stamps that have been placed on messages or documents to verify the authenticity of the document or message.
The main purpose behind a digital signature is to authenticate the identity of the message’s sender or to authenticate the signer of a document. It provides the assurance that the sender is indeed the one who sent the message or document or signed the document itself.
The presence of digital signatures can also be used to indicate that the original message is intact and remains unchanged. The signature suggests that the message or document originated with the sender and that it has remained unchanged.
Digital signatures are used with all types of messages including encrypted ones. Although unsavory characters might attempt to forge a digital signature, it would be quite difficult to accomplish.
What are some of the benefits of digital signatures?
- Digital signatures can be set up for automatic time-stamping. This verifies that the original message has been sent and received so that the sender cannot claim otherwise later on.
- Digital signatures are easily transportable.
- Digital signatures are unique so they cannot be imitated by another individual.
How does a digital signature work?
In order to utilize digital signatures, special software and a private key are necessary. When an individual uses a digital signature, the software performs what is referred to as “hashing.” This action crunches all of the data into just a few lines, which is referred to as a “message digest.” Once a message digest has been created, it cannot be transformed back into its original form.
The message digest is then encrypted using the private key of the owner of the data. Once this process occurs, the digital signature is in place and the data has been signed. Next, the document or message is passed on to the intended recipient.
The recipient of the data can use a public key (belonging to the sender of the data) to decrypt the signature or changes it into a message digest. Then, the software hashes the data of the document into a message digest. This message digest should appear to be exactly the same as the message digest that was created at the time that the digital signature was decrypted.
Even though all of this back and forth might appear complicated, the software does all of the difficult work. One way to ensure that a digital signature is legitimate is to create a digital certificate for it. This only needs to be done once and it will provide the assurance that the digital signature is indeed legitimate. A digital certificate is created through the digital certificate authority center of a company with the input of a small amount of personal information about the owner of a key.
Susan Keenan | August 22nd, 2008
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