Digital Signature Explained

Since the turn of the century, the world has rapidly become digital. Almost all aspects of life have been digitized to make daily human activities easy. When documentation with organizations and institutions became digitized, having a digital signature became crucial for validation.

Definition of a Digital Signature

A digital signature describes a mathematical approach of verifying and validating a digital file’s reliability and legitimacy, which can be in the form of a document, email, or software. This type of signature was developed to provide the same kind of function as would a physical signature. However, a digital signature provides even more options to a user than its traditional counterpart. A digital signature can provide an additional security layer that allows the recipient of a file to know if a third party has altered a file or message. Also, it allows the recipient to know if the document they’ve received came from an impersonator. A digital signature can provide information about the background, status, and identification of a digital message and file. Moreover, it provides information regarding the consent of the person that owns the signature. Therefore, in many countries worldwide, the digital signature that is appended on a document makes it legally binding.

The Classes of a Digital Signature

A digital signature can be categorized into three classes. These classes are listed and described below.

Class 1 Certificate
Class 2 Certificate
Class 3 Certificate

Class 1 Certificate

This class of digital signature is the simplest type. Individuals use it for activities that require a basic security system, which protects data where there are little chances of impersonation or tampering. The class 1 certificate digital signature is mainly used in activities that involve username and password validation.

Class 2 Certificate

This class of signature provides better security than the class 1 certificate. It is used by both business and private institutions. It is a preferred option for the creation and certification of digital tax documents. The class 2 certificate digital signature provides a verified database to authenticate the signature on a digital document. Also, this class of signature is mostly used in areas with moderate security risks.

Class 3 Certificate

The class 3 certificate digital signature is the most secure class of signature that is used on documents. This signature requires direct verification of the owner of the signature by a certifying body, which can prove the identity of the owner. As a result, it is used in environments where the risk of security issues is high. Therefore, this class of signature is mainly used for electronic financial applications.

How a Digital Signature Works

Generally speaking, a digital signature is based on an asymmetric cryptography technique, which is a public key. An individual can quickly generate two mathematically connected keys with the help of a public key system. Therefore, when an individual embeds a document with a digital signature using the private key, the document can only be decrypted using a corresponding public key.

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