What are Digital Certificates?
| by MindGenies | May 11, 2008
A digital certificate is an attachment tagged to an electronic message for security purposes. It allows the sender of a message to be verified by the recipient, that the sender is actually the person he or she claims to be. In addition, it allows the recipient to reply to the message in a 'secure' way, so that only the sender of the original message and nobody else receives it.
The most important things in Digital certificates are as follows-
• Identification information
• Cryptographic keys
• Digital signature
Cryptographic Keys-
A digital certificate has a pair of coupled cryptographic keys. These are symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic.
Symmetric cryptographic key uses only one key between two parties i.e. encryption and decryption is done by same keys.
Asymmetric cryptographic key uses different keys between two parties i.e. encryption and decryption is done by different keys. These keys always work in pairs i.e. one key is public to all which is only for the owner known as public key and private key is distributed to all the users which is always different from one customer to other. The main work of these keys is to encrypt and decrypt the messages and to secure the whole process of transactions.
Digital Signature-
A digital signature is an electronic signature for verification purpose and provides higher degree of security. A digital certificate owner "signs" an object by using the certificate's private key. The recipient uses the certificate's corresponding public key to decrypt the signature, which verifies the integrity of the signed object and verifies the sender as the source. In other words it is a way of authentication of digital messages.
In terms of cryptography (encoding messages), public key (identity) certificates, which are also called 'digital signatures', contain information about a person or organization's name, address etc, which is unique as it is 'publicly' available from only one such individual or organization. Typically in public key infrastructure (PKI) schemes, where the signatures are validated by Certificate Authorities (CA), the signing authorities certify that the public key and identity information belong together.
The most important things in Digital certificates are as follows-
• Identification information
• Cryptographic keys
• Digital signature
Cryptographic Keys-
A digital certificate has a pair of coupled cryptographic keys. These are symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic.
Symmetric cryptographic key uses only one key between two parties i.e. encryption and decryption is done by same keys.
Asymmetric cryptographic key uses different keys between two parties i.e. encryption and decryption is done by different keys. These keys always work in pairs i.e. one key is public to all which is only for the owner known as public key and private key is distributed to all the users which is always different from one customer to other. The main work of these keys is to encrypt and decrypt the messages and to secure the whole process of transactions.
Digital Signature-
A digital signature is an electronic signature for verification purpose and provides higher degree of security. A digital certificate owner "signs" an object by using the certificate's private key. The recipient uses the certificate's corresponding public key to decrypt the signature, which verifies the integrity of the signed object and verifies the sender as the source. In other words it is a way of authentication of digital messages.
In terms of cryptography (encoding messages), public key (identity) certificates, which are also called 'digital signatures', contain information about a person or organization's name, address etc, which is unique as it is 'publicly' available from only one such individual or organization. Typically in public key infrastructure (PKI) schemes, where the signatures are validated by Certificate Authorities (CA), the signing authorities certify that the public key and identity information belong together.
Article Source: http://www.articleset.com
You are welcome to publish or reprint this article free of charge, provided:
- you include the entire article, unchanged, including the "About The Author" box
- all hyperlinks remain active, including the bottom ArticleSet.com link (does not apply to print publications)
- you agree not to hold the authors nor ArticleSet.com liable for any loss profits, expenses, or any other damages resulting from the use or misuse of articles published on this website
Menu
Home Top ArticlesTop AuthorsSubmit ArticleArticleSet BlogLink To UsArticle FeedsTermsContactFeatured
Broadband broadbandLanguage
