DIGITAL

SIGNATURE
WHAT IS DIGITAL SIGNATURE ?
 Signatures are commonly used to authenticate documents.
Similarly, digital signatures are used to authenticate the
contents of electronic documents.
 It is a mathematical technique used to validate the
authenticity and integrity of a message, software or digital
document.
 The digital signature is an electronic signature that is used
by senders of certain documents to show that the
document originates from them
 Digital signatures rely on certain types of encryption to
ensure authentication.
WHY DIGITAL SIGNATURE??

 The signature has been the foundation of business and government transactions for
thousands of years. However, the tools of government and commerce are changing.
Bits and bytes are replacing pen and parchment.
 Due to the boom of e-commerce and online banking it was necessary for companies
to secure their networks to gain customers' confidence which led to greater and
faster rate of adoption of digital signatures
 One can use them to comply with the most demanding legal and regulatory
requirements. It has applications in Government, Judicial, Telecom, E-Commerce and
BFSI.
TYPES OF DIGITAL SIGNATURES
 Class I :
 Basic Level of assurance.
 Not considered to be of major significance.
 Donot validate identity of the subscriber &
hence are not persona verified
 Non commercial & low value transactions
 Class II :
 Moderate level of assurance
 Authenticates details of the signer
 Used in various form filling, online
registration, email attestation, income tax
filing, etc
TYPES OF DIGITAL SIGNATURES

 Class III :
 Matters of high security & safety
 Mainly used in online trading & ecommerce where
huge amount of money or highly confidential
information is involved
 E-tendering , patent & trade mark e-filing, MCA e-
filing, e-auction, e-bidding, etc.
WHO ISSUES A DIGITAL SIGNATURE

 Certifying Authority (CA) – granted license under Section 24 of the Indian IT Act
2000
 Applicant can directly approach CA with below originals & self attested photocopies
 Photo ID proof
 Address proof
OR
 Aadhar eKYC authenticated
 DCS are usually issued within 3-7 working days & are valid for 1-2 years
LIST OF CERTIFYING AUTHORITIES
ADVANTAGES
• Data Integrity
The integrity of data can be ensured as counterfeiting is virtually impossible, while a paper
document can be modified after being signed by an unauthorized person

• Loss reduced
The probability of losing a digital copy is much lower compared to paper-based documents

• Protection of Copyright
All types of data, such as photos or audio files, can be digitally signed, which protects the
copyright of these materials

• Date Validity
A timestamp can be attached to the digital signature, ensuring that the document was signed on
a specific date
• They're fast.
Instead of waiting for documents to be sent by courier around the globe, your
contracts can be completed and delivered with digital signatures in a matter of
seconds.

• They're less costly.

Email has made communicating a lot cheaper, and couriers cost a lot of money, so
why not combine both, using digital signatures, in your business?

• They're secure.
Your contracts are even more secure because they're not traveling around the
globe to reach you!

• They're as authentic, and as reliable, as a real signature.

When done correctly, digital signatures will stand up in court, just like any other
contract or document, signed in the real world.
CONS OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE
 Not Trusted
More traditional clients and business partners may doubt the integrity of digital signatures. This may
lead to doubts about using this mode of authentication
 Incremental Cost
There can be an extra cost involved in getting professional, verifiable and genuine digital signatures.
This may not be set off by its benefits
 Lack of Secrecy
Although digital signature provides authenticity, it does not ensure secrecy of the data. To provide
the secrecy, some other technique such as encryption and decryption needs to be used, which
further increases costs
CASE STUDY
A digital signature used by somebody other than the authorized person
amounts to fraud.
Cyber police station at bandra kurla complex recently lodged an fir against three
persons who used fraudulent digital signatures and implanted themselves as directors of
the firm on the website.
Rohas Nagpal, president of Asian School of Cyber Laws said “The problem of issues ay
be wider and often goes unnoticed as the technology is still new. Often people don't
understand the importance of keeping their private keys secure.”
This recent case proved that the current verification, authentication and rectification
process is not stringent enough and must be made robust.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.searchsecurity.techtarget.com
 www.instantssl.com
 www.mca.gov.in
 www.signeasy.com
THANK YOU