Expt 10 Digital Signatures
Expt 10 Digital Signatures
Expt 10 Digital Signatures
10
Create & verify digital signature
Digital signatures use public-key for message authentication. In the physical world, it is
common to use handwritten signatures on handwritten or typed messages. They are
used to bind signature to the message.
Similarly, a digital signature is a technique that binds a person/entity to the digital data.
This binding can be independently verified by receiver as well as any third party.
Digital signature is a cryptographic value that is calculated from the data and a secret
key known only by the signer.
In real world, the receiver of message needs assurance that the message belongs to
the sender and he should not be able to repudiate the origination of that message. This
requirement is very crucial in business applications, since likelihood of a dispute over
exchanged data is very high.
The receiver after receiving the encrypted data and signature on it, first verifies the
signature using sender’s public key. After ensuring the validity of the signature, he then
retrieves the data through decryption using his private key.