What is Digital Signature and How to create it?
Do you know what is Digital Signature? I want to notify you about a few concerns in this regard below. This is a bit technical, but I will try to explain it to you.
Friends, by the way, you use Signatures at many places in your life. Our agreement is indicated by our signature, which is legally binding. If we sign our name anywhere, it indicates that we are giving our assent to that action. Like in a bank's checkbook, or in any government document where we have our consent, we write our signature.
But have you ever thought that these signatures can also be forged? There are many people who can copy any signature exactly. Now there is something to be afraid of because if someone loots our hard-earned money with such fake signatures, then it is really a scary thing.
But now you do not panic because now we have started using Digital Signatures instead of Physical signatures. Due to this, the work of such extortion is impossible. So, today's essay will explain what a digital signature is and how to create one. So what's the delay, let's start.
What is Digital Signature?
Digital Signature is such a technique by which we can know the truth of any document. With this, we can find out how Authentic or Genuine that document is.
Digital Signature has been made in such a way that if any kind of tampering has been done then it can be easily identified. This gives accurate information about the origin, identity, and status of that electronic document.
A valid Digital Signature gives us the assurance that the sent documents have been sent by the known Sender only, it confirms this. And even the sender cannot turn away from this.
Digital Signature is a standard element for many Cryptographic Protocol Suites and they are used in many places like Software Distribution, Financial Transaction, and Contract Management Software, so that forgery can be easily caught.
How to make Digital Signature and How it works?
Digital Signature is based on Public key Cryptography which is also called Asymmetric Cryptography. It generates two keys using a Public key Algorithm like RSA which are Private and Public.
And both these keys are mathematically linked. To create Digital Signature, with the help of Signing Software, one way Hash is made of the electronic data for which the signature is to be made. Then the hash is encrypted with the help of the private key.
Digital signature refers to the encrypted hash as well as any additional information related to it, such as the hashing algorithm.
Here we encrypt the empty Hash instead of the entire message because, with the help of the Hash Function, we can convert any arbitrary input into a fixed length value which is generally smaller. This saves time because Hashing is much faster than Signing.
Hash's value is unique if we look at its Hashed Data. If anything changes in that data, even if one character is manipulated then some other value will be shown in the result.
The capability enables others to confirm the accuracy of the data by decrypting the hash via the signer's public key. If the decrypted hash matches with another computed hash, then it proves that there is no change in the data. And if the data of both the hashes do not match, then it is possible that there has been some change in the data, and it cannot be trusted anymore.
What distinguishes a digital certificate from a digital signature?
Let me tell you that there is a lot of difference between digital certificates and digital signatures. Digital Certificate is used to verify the trustworthiness of a website whereas Digital Signature is used to verify the key of a document.
Is it safe to use Digital Certificate?
So in this context, we can say that as long as your Private Key is safe with you, it is completely safe to use Digital Certificate.
For your knowledge, I should mention that since Private Keys are created and kept in FIPS-compliant Cryptographic Tokens, it is not feasible to modify them. We can say that Private Keys are created in that Cryptographic Token only, remain there and die within it, and never comes out.
During Digital Signing, Private Keys are required to use it in software, and to do this a PIN is also required. So you have to keep that PIN safe along with this Cryptographic Token.
For this reason, it is very safe because to access someone's Digital Signature, you have to know its Cryptographic Token as well as its PIN.
Advantages of Digital Signature
The main function of a Digital Signature is to prevent any kind of tampering and impersonation with any Digital Documents. With the help of this, we get to know about the real truth of any digital document whether it is real or fake.
How to charge a mobile without electricity?
The principal benefits of digital signature are as follows:
Authentication: As we know that Digital Signature is linked with the Private Keys of any user and only he can use it, due to which it is known here who is the real owner of this document.
- Integrity: If any difference is found in even a single bit after digital signing, then it becomes complete proof that this document is not trustworthy.
- Non-repudiation: A user cannot later retract his digital signature from a document if he has already done so. This is because its signing cannot be faked by using the public keys of any user.
Digital Signatures vs Paper Signature
If we talk about which signature is more secure, then it can be said with some doubt that Digital Signature is more secure than Paper Signature. This is due to how simple it is to copy an ink or paper signature. But it is probably not that easy if we talk about Digital Signatures.
This is because in Digital Signature an electronic identity is cryptographically tied to an electronic document. And which is difficult to copy.
About Digital Signatures
If I talk about today's era, then I can say that nowadays many such modern email programs have come into the market, which support Digital Signatures and Digital certificates, and have made it very easy to send emails.
Because with their help it is very easy to validate the digitally signed incoming message. For this reason, Digital Signature is being used with great concern because it gives proof of authenticity, data integrity, and non-repudiation of digital documents if we talk about any transaction on the Internet.
What did you learn today?
I have full hope that I have given you complete information about what is Digital Signature (What is Digital Signature) and I hope that you have understood this new technology.
I kindly ask each reader to spread the word about this information to their friends, family, and neighbors so that we may all benefit from increased awareness.
If you folks have any questions,
please feel free to ask me. It has always been my goal to assist my readers or
readers in general will definitely try to solve those doubts.
0 Comments