{"id":1104,"date":"2020-06-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/blog\/?p=1104"},"modified":"2020-06-23T13:56:23","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T13:56:23","slug":"what-is-a-digital-signature-and-how-does-the-digital-signature-process-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/blog\/what-is-a-digital-signature-and-how-does-the-digital-signature-process-work\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Digital Signature and How Does the Digital Signature Process Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is a digital signature? It\u2019s probably not what you think it is\u2026 in fact, you\u2019re using several right now\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although it\u2019s easy to confuse the two, a digital signature isn\u2019t the same thing as an electronic signature. Although both terms include the word \u201csignature,\u201d and they both relate to identity, they\u2019re actually two different processes. A digital signature is a type of electronic signature in the broad sense, but it serves a different function and end goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A digital signature is also different than a digital certificate<\/a> (although the two work in conjunction). Not sure what we mean? You\u2019ll see shortly. In this article, we\u2019ll break down what a digital signature is and how it works. We\u2019ll also dive into the nitty-gritty things to know about the digital signature process as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is a Digital Signature in Cryptography?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a nutshell, a digital signature (also known as an advanced electronic signature or qualified electronic signature, in some cases) is an integral component of public key infrastructure<\/a> (PKI) that allows users to look at something (an email, document, software application, etc.) and know who it came from. Basically, it\u2019s a way for you to authenticate yourself to another party and show that your item in question is legitimate and unaltered. For example, here\u2019s how a digital signature looks in a signed email:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Examples of how email digital signature information looks in Outlook.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Another example of a digital signature can be found in SSL\/TLS certificates in the form of the certification path. For example, the SSL\/TLS certificate on SectigoStore.com is signed by the intermediate certificate using a digital signature, which is signed by the root certificate, so you can know for sure that this website was verified by Sectigo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Digital signatures work hand-in-hand with hash functions<\/a>, or what are known more simply as hashes. Ever heard of SHA-2 and SHA-256<\/a>? Yeah, those are two of the most common examples of hashing algorithms. (Don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll talk more about hashing a little later to provide additional clarity.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Signatures Offer Assurance and Authenticity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Hmm, that didn\u2019t really help much, did it? Okay, let\u2019s try this another way. There are three primary uses for digital signatures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n