Computer Science – 17.1 Encryption, Encryption Protocols and Digital Certificates | e-Consult

A digital signature is a cryptographic mechanism used to ensure the authenticity and integrity of digital documents or messages. It provides assurance that the sender is who they claim to be and that the message has not been altered in transit.

Process of Creating a Digital Signature:

1. The sender uses their private key to encrypt a hash of the message. This encrypted hash is the digital signature.
2. The sender sends the original message and the digital signature to the recipient.

Process of Verifying a Digital Signature:

1. The recipient uses the sender's public key to decrypt the digital signature, obtaining the original hash value.
2. The recipient independently calculates the hash of the received message.
3. The recipient compares the decrypted hash value with the independently calculated hash value. If they match, the signature is valid, confirming authenticity and integrity.

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