by Debra Garls
Though digital signatures and digital certificates both provide online security, they are very different in how and why they are used.
As the world moves away from paper and toward digital processes, the need for online security increased along with it. With the creation of online documents, emails, and attachments, there was also the invention of forged online identities, altered digital documents, and even duplicated websites.
Therefore, digital certificates and digital signatures were created to thwart these security breaches and provide protection to digital interactions and transactions.
Digital Certificates are like a digital identification card. They are used to verify the owner’s identity when it is shared with others. For example, when a document is signed with a digital certificate, the person receiving the document is guaranteed the authenticity of the sender because the Certificate Authority has verified the owner’s identity.
The Certificate Authority, or CA, is a reputable security organization like a government organization, security agency, or a tech company. The CA runs a background check on the certificate applicant before they issue the certificate.
The following are some reasons why you would use a digital certificate:
The use of digital certificates provides the following benefits:
Digital signatures are like virtual signatures. No, this does not mean that digital signatures are a scanned version of your signature, but rather a digital attachment to a file that establishes the identity of the signer. Also, with the inclusion of a digital signature, the contents of the document that the digital signature is attached to – cannot be altered. If for any reason, an attempt is made to alter the contents in the document, the digital signature will become invalidated, and the whole document will become redundant.
The use of a digital signature establishes the following for the data that has been shared:
Digital Signatures use the standard and accepted format – Public Key Infrastructure – to provide the highest levels of security and universal acceptance. In many countries today, digital signatures have the same legal significance as a penned signature. Digital signatures are used to thwart forging or tampering of important documents.
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Debra Garls
As a SAP Business Development Manager, Debra Garls, seeks to help companies automate, secure and streamline the process of distributing valuable documents throughout the enterprise. Ensuring the right documents get to the right place, in the right format, at the right time. info@sealsystems.com
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