

This will verify its authenticity and the corresponding digital identities upon receipt.Ĭlick here to learn more about digital signatures. A unique fingerprint is attached to the contract, and your business partner can use their private key to decrypt it.
#ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE SOFTWARE#
To ensure your contract stays confidential, you use software to create a digital certificate or digital signature certificate and digitally sign an encrypted version. You and your business partner feel it’s too risky to send the contract physically for fear that it may be intercepted. Say you’re the CEO of your company and want to send a confidential contract to one of your business partners located outside of the country. Let’s look at an example of how a digital signature works. Some digital signature platforms integrate into your preferred document creation software so you can create a signature with just one button click. They’ll make securing your signed documents much more convenient.Īll you need to do is upload your document to your digital signature technology platform of choice and generate the digital signature and a digital certificate from there. To create a digital signature, you must use dedicated software such as Signaturely. And your recipient can use their key to decrypt it when they receive it. You can use your public key to encrypt the document’s contents so that only the recipient can read the signed document. So if you want to send a digitally signed message, you need certificate authority access to the digital certificate. A public key is used to encrypt the message, while a private key can decrypt it. How Does a Digital Signature Work?ĭigital signatures utilize cryptographic operations or asymmetric cryptography. The message came from you and hasn’t been altered in any way since you sent it, andĭigital signatures can also be used to verify the authenticity of software updates and secure online banking transactions. You can encrypt the document with a digital signature that will allow the recipient to verify that:ġ.

What Is the Purpose of a Digital Signature?ĭigital signatures are used to verify the authenticity of digital messages and documents to ensure their integrity.įor example, let’s say you want to send a digital document that contains sensitive information you need to keep confidential, with no chance of interference or interception by any other party. Messages can be encrypted using different keys, which means that even if they are intercepted through an insecure channel, they cannot be opened or tampered with. Certificate-based digital ID is used for encrypting and decrypting the message itself, so the only one who can open it is the person or entity you sent it to. A digital signature comprises unique characters in the body of a message or at the end of a document that essentially “locks” it and certifies its validity.ĭigital signatures are based on public key infrastructure (PKI) or cryptographic operations. Recipients of the document can verify the sender’s identity, detect message tampering and spoofing, and establish its authenticity. What Is a Digital Signature?Ī digital signature is a mathematical mechanism that allows you to sign an electronic document. This article discusses the differences between electronic and digital signatures, such as their unique purpose and how they are created. Have you ever wondered what the difference between electronic and digital signatures is? Electronic signatures are easy to acquire, convenient, and, most importantly, legally binding. Today, you can sign any contract, agreement, or document from anywhere in the world with any device you have. Gone are the days when the only way to sign a document was to put pen to physical paper and send it off via fax machine or snail mail.
