How Signing Works
- The document or message is first converted into a hash (a fixed-size digest of the content).
- This hash is then encrypted with the sender’s private key, creating the digital signature.
- The signature is sent along with the original message or document.
How Verification Works
- The receiver decrypts the signature using the sender’s public key, extracting the hash created by the signer.
- The receiver independently hashes the received document using the same hash function.
- If the decrypted hash and the newly computed hash are equal, the signature is valid—meaning the document has not been altered and the signature is authentic.
Digital Certificates Context
- Digital certificates (like X.509) contain the public key of the owner and are themselves signed by a trusted authority (CA).
- When verifying a certificate, one verifies the CA’s signature on the certificate using the CA’s public key.
- These certificates are used to distribute the public key securely and with trusted identity information