Digital Signatures

Authentication using digital signatures is done using S/MIME authentication. It involves adding a digital signature to the outgoing message. Digital signatures are verifiable transformations made on a piece of data by the private key, which can be verified by using the corresponding public key. They bind a document to the possessor of a particular key. Digital signatures are used to bind information to the identity of its originator. They can be used to provide data origin authentication and data integrity.

A digital signature includes the following parts:

  • A certificate authority's distinguished the name of the signer
  • A sender's public key (optional)
  • The serial number of the signer's certificate