Digital Signatures in Cryptography: Benefits, Types, and Applications

The traditional document signing process requires too much paperwork and time for processing. A digital signature resolves this issue and simplifies the document signing process. Especially Digital Signatures in Cryptography is quite secure and reliable to use in the signing process of contracts and agreements. Here in this blog, you will learn about cryptography and digital signatures in detail.

What is Digital Signatures in Cryptography?

A Digital Signature in Cryptography is a mathematical technique of digital signature generation and verification. It involves verifying the authenticity, integrity, and origin of digital messages or documents. It works by generating a unique signature using the sender’s private key. It is used to verify the recipient using the sender’s public key. It is used in financial transactions and government applications due to its strong security and efficiency.

How Do Digital Signatures in Cryptography Work?

A digital signature process has three main steps:

Key Generation

In this step, two cryptographic keys are generated:

• Private Key (used for signing).
• Public Key (used for verification).

Signing Process

In these steps,

• The sender creates a hash of the message/document.
• Hash is encrypted using the sender’s private key to create an online signature.
• The signature is attached to the document.

Verification Process

• The recipient decrypts the signature using the sender’s public key.
• The decrypted hash is compared with the hash of the received document
• If both match, the signature is valid, otherwise, it indicates tampering.

Benefits of Cryptographic Digital Signature

• Protects Data: Digital Signature in cryptography ensures that the signed document remains unchanged during transmission.
• Authentication: It verifies the sender’s identity and prevents the risk of fraud.
• Non-Repudiation: It eliminates the chances of denial by the signer that the person is not involved in signing.
• Highly Secured: Cryptographic digital signature used encryption to protect data from unauthorised access and tampering.
• Adds efficiency in the singing process: it eliminates the need for paperwork and enhances the efficiency of paperwork.

Digital Signature Standard DSS in Cryptography

The Digital Signature Standard is a cryptographic standard that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for generation and verifying online signatures. It defines the use of the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), RSA, and ECSA for secure authentication and data integrity.

Digital Signature Standard confirms that online signatures are created through the secure hashing function and asymmetric key cryptography. A private key is used for signing and a public key is for verification.

What are the three types of Digital Signatures Certificates?

The three types of Digital Signatures are:

• Class 1 Digital Signature: Class 1 Digital Signature provides the basic security. It is used for email communication and non-critical transactions. It usually verifies the user’s name and email ID.

• Class 2 Digital Signature: Class 2 Signature is used for business transactions, tax filing, and banking. It verifies the singer’s identity against the database.

• Class 3 Digital Signature: The highest level of security is used for e-tendering, legal documents, and high-value transactions. In this type of signature, the signer should be physically present for verification. It is considered the most secure form of digital signature.

Use Cases of Digital Signature

• E- Governance: To prevent fraud, governments use digital signatures for e-tenders, tax filings (e.g. GST, ITR), and document authentication. Aadhaar-based e-Sign is a digital signature example used to sign government forms and applications. Electronic signatures ensure the document is tamper-proof and legally valid for approvals for policies, contracts, and regulatory filings.

• Banking and Finance: Banks use digital signatures for loan agreements, eKYC Verification, and for the fund transfer process. Financial institutions use e-signatures for processes like paperless account opening, mutual fund investments and e-statements.

• Secure Email Communication: A Digital Signature authenticates the sender and verifies that the email content is tamper-proof. Email services support digitally signed emails to prevent phishing attacks.

• Digital Identity Verification: Government-issued ePassport, eKYC, and digital ID cards use cryptographic signatures for authentication. The signature helps in verifying the ID card during the customer onboarding process and reduces the chances of identity fraud.

• Securing Cloud Storage and Digital Documents: Usually, cloud service providers use digital signatures in cryptography to verify the file integrity. It ensures that PDF, Word, and legal contracts are authentic. It prevents unauthorized access.

Surepass Digital Signature Solutions For Business

Surepass a reputed API provider, offers various solutions to securely sign contracts, agreements, forms, etc.

Aadhaar eSignature

The Aadhaar eSign solution allows users to sign documents online with Aadhaar and OTP authentication digitally. Businesses can use this solution for securely signing documents online without any hassle of documentation.

Using Solution Is Quite Easy

• Just upload the document to the API.
• Enter Aadhaar number and verify OTP.
• After authentication, a digitally signed document will be issued.

PAN e-Sign

PAN eSign streamlines the document signing process and makes the contract signing process easy with security. It uses OTP for authentication.

Using this API is quite easy

• Upload the document to the API you want to sign.
• Enter the PAN number and OTP (received on the registered mobile).
• After authentication, the Document eSign will be done.

Conclusion

Digital signatures are a secure source of online document signing. It eliminates the manual documentation work and makes the document signing process simple and efficient. Digital Signatures in Cryptography involves the process where the hash is created, which is encrypted with the private key. After that, it is attached to the document. For verification, the public key is used. There are mainly three types of Digital Signatures Class 1, 2, and 3. These signatures are used by banks, financial institutions, and other businesses for the online document signing process.

FAQs

What is a digital signature in cryptography?

A digital signature in cryptography is a secure method to verify a document is genuine and not tampered with using encryption.

What are the three types of digital signatures?

Three types of digital signatures are SES (Simple Electronic Signature), AES (Advanced Electronic Signature), and Qualified Electronic Signatures.

What is a type 3 digital signature?

A Type 3 digital signature is the highest level of digital signature. It is used for secure and verified transactions.

What are the two types of DSC?

The two types of digital signatures are Class 2 (used for identity verification in filing documents)and Class 3 (used for high-security transactions).