Digital Signature Generation Process is a Cryptographical Mechanism

Information Technology Data Encryption & Decryption using Cryptography

In information technology, data infringement or hacking is a major security threat on the open source digital channels. Though digital certification is not meant for data security, it lays greater emphasis on the authentication of the sender. It is meant to authenticate the sender in this case.

Nevertheless, businesses and individuals are possessive about their documents and messages hence they encrypt them so that hackers cannot manipulate them. In the case of ultra-security documentation, hacking can lead to sensitive information falling in the wrong hands. But remember nothing is completely foolproof in the information technology ecosystem, and the developers have to keep on upgrading the products, tools, and services to keep ahead of the hackers.

Encryption in a digital signature assures that the document or message certified by the authority has not been changed or tampered with. In this article, we will see how the encryption and decryption take place, and how it is checked to ensure no manipulation has taken place.

Digital Data Cryptography – Key Generation

The encryption used in the case of digital data is known as cryptography. The technique replaces actual data with several illegible characters that form a list of alphanumerical dots and dashes to represent the actual document or message.

In the case of digital signature or DSC, the decryption of data cannot take place without using the public key or in some rare instances the private key. The private is always kept a secret. This is called symmetric key cartography but when a public key is used for opening ciphered, or cryptic messages, or documents it is called asymmetric cryptography. In the latter, the two keys often referred to as key pairs are generated using hash algorithms, and the key that the sender keeps stored in his computer or other storage devices is known as the private key.

Encryption in a digital signature assures that the document or message certified by the authority has not been changed or tampered with. In this article, we will see how the encryption and decryption take place, and how it is checked to ensure no manipulation has taken place.

List of Hash Algorithms

• MD5
• SHA-1
• SHA-2
• NTLM
• LANMAN
• SHA 256

The hash value generated by these mathematical algorithms is non-reversible and very difficult to break. They generate the same value every time for a given document using mathematical algorithms. But in some extraordinary cases, some of them have resulted in a collision i.e if two unique data return the same hash values this is bad for security. Thus SHA 256 is most often used, it was designed by the United States National Security Agency and first published in the year 2001.

Digital Signature Certificate

The certificate is issued by a certifying authority in India authorized by CCA or the Controller of Certifying Authorities. The certification is issued based on IT Pan and Aadhar card, and video verification. The certificate contains:

• User's Name or Organization's Name
• Email Address
• Pin Code
• Issue Date
• Expiry Date
• Public Key

Cryptography in Digital Signature

In this process, the electronic document or messages are first encrypted using a hash algorithm. The hash value or digest results after encryption. The alphanumerical string is fixed as far as the size is concerned irrespective of the size of the document being encrypted. Thus, the object is represented in a cryptic form that cannot be deciphered without the use of a key generated by the sender.

DSC or Digital Certification by Certifying Authority or Partner

The sender sends the public key and requires documents to the CA who issues the digital certification. The sender then sends the digest, public key along with the digital signature certification issued by CA. The DSC issued by the certifying authority thus acts as an authentication for the receiver for the required purpose. Remember you can also forward the application to the CA subsidiary an authorized partner of the company that issues DSC. The certifications are priced according to the type and the purpose they solve.

A group of writers at Above the Fold Digital Marketing and Web Development Company in Mumbai India