DSCs are the digital equivalent (electronic format) of physical or paper certificates. Driver’s licences, passports, and membership cards are some examples of tangible certificates.
Certificates serve as verification of an individual’s identification for a certain purpose; for example, a driver’s licence identifies someone who may legally drive in a specific nation. A digital certificate, similarly, may be submitted electronically to establish one’s identity, get access to information or services on the Internet, or digitally sign particular papers.
The digital signature is issued by a certified Certifying Authority (CA). Section 24 of the Indian IT-Act 2000 defines a Certifying Authority (CA) as a person who has been given a licence to issue a digital signature certificate.
WHAT IS DIGITAL SIGNATURE?
A digital signature is a mathematical approach for validating the validity and integrity of a communication, piece of software, or digital document. It’s the digital counterpart of a handwritten signature or a stamped seal, but it’s significantly more secure. A digital signature is designed to prevent tampering and impersonation in digital communications. Digital signatures can be used to verify the origin, identity, and status of electronic documents, transactions, or digital messages. They can also be used by signers to acknowledge informed consent.
PROCESS OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE
Uses for digital signatures
1.Digital signature technology is used in industries to expedite procedures and increase document integrity.
2.Government – Governments throughout the world utilise digital signatures for a number of purposes, including processing tax returns, confirming business-to-government (B2G) transactions, ratifying legislation, and administering contracts.
3.Healthcare-In the healthcare business, digital signatures are used to increase the efficiency of treatment and administrative operations, to boost data security, and for e-prescribing and hospital admissions.
4.Production- Digital signatures are used by manufacturers to speed up operations such as product design, quality assurance (QA), manufacturing upgrades, marketing, and sales.
5.Financial services – The financial industry in the United States employs digital signatures for contracts, paperless banking, loan processing, insurance documents, mortgages, and other purposes.
6. Cryptocurrencies – Digital signatures are also used to authenticate the blockchain in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They are also used to maintain bitcoin transaction data and as a mechanism for users to demonstrate ownership of cash or involvement in a transaction.
Benefits of a Digital Signature Certificate
Authentication: Helpful in authenticating the individual holder’s personal information details when conducting business online.
Cost and time savings: Instead of physically signing hard copy papers and scanning them to send through e-mail, you may digitally sign PDF files and send them much more rapidly. To conduct or approve business, a Digital Signature certificate holder does not need to be physically present.
Data integrity: Digitally signed documents cannot be altered or amended after they are signed, making the data safe and secure. Government authorities frequently request these certifications in order to cross-check and verify commercial transactions.
Document authenticity: Digitally signed papers offer the receiver confidence that the signer is genuine. They can take action based on such papers without fear of the documents being faked.
