Digital certificate are like the credentials which are in electronic form that will confirm the identity of the person.

Digital certificates function similarly to identification cards such as passports and drivers licenses.

The digital signature contains the public key and the original identity of the sender. Digital signature are issued by the Certification Authority CA that will provide the genuineness to that person online data and its identity in the network.

The certificate purpose defines the intended primary use of the certificate. The certificate purpose can be one of four settings:

• Encryption.

• Signature.

• Signature and encryption.

• Signature and smartcard logon.

The Certification Authority CA issues a public key to the owner. The key for matching it shoul be private and is stored by the person who generates the key for the data.

The certificate is also a confirmation or validation by the CA that the public key contained in the certificate belongs to the person, organization, server or other entity noted in the certificate.

Obtaining a Certificate From CA

You can obtain a certificate for your business from commercial CAs. The Issuing entities of commercial CAs provide certificate with a cost.

The Certification Authority act as an intermediary that will prove that the data is being sent by that person known as message non-repudiation and also ensures it will reach the receiver in a secure manner.