What is a digital credential? Do you know that using digital credentials is closely related to daily life? This article will explain the definition, content, and acquisition methods of digital credentials. Further, we will discuss how to verify digital certificates through digital signatures. To learn more about professional digital credential services, continue reading!
In the digital age, the Internet has become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. With an overwhelming amount of digital information constantly evolving, it is crucial to ensure the safety and reliability of this data. One effective method to achieve this is through the use of digital credentials, which provide a secure and trustworthy verification process for information.
A. The basic concept of digital credential
Before introducing “digital certificates”, let’s talk about what “certificates” are.
In daily life, every document that can be used as proof is a certificate. Typical examples of such documents include ID cards, driver’s licenses, certificates of degree, physical examination reports, and employment contracts.
With a clear understanding of the concept of a certificate, the definition of a “digital certificate” becomes more straightforward. A digital certificate is a digital version of an identity proof. It can verify the identity of the information owner and confirm their qualifications for information review and access. In this scenario, network information management will remain secure and out of the hands of unauthorized individuals.
The term “Digital Credential” originally referred to “all identity authentication information” of computer users. However, in Taiwan, the term “Digital Certificate” is limited to information technology and is understood to mean “certificate at the network level.” This may contribute to the perception that Digital Certificates are abstract and difficult to understand. However, the digital certificate can just easily regarded as a form of online identity authentication.
The principle of the digital certificate is to utilize public key cryptography to encrypt (similar to “locking”) the information with a “digital key”. Thus, the information can only be read by the specified person, and the specified person needs to decrypt (similar to ‘ unlocking ’) to check the information. Consequently, digital certificates are also called Public Key Certificates.
A complete digital certificate includes
There are many common types of digital certificates, for instance, citizen digital certificates, server certificates, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates, Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates, and so on.
Just like ordinary credentials are issued by credible institutions, digital certificates also have specialized issuing units.
Digital certificates are issued by the Certification Authority (CA). This center can provide the generation, issuance, verification, and management services of digital certificates. Therefore, it must be an authoritative third-party organization responsible for ensuring the trustworthiness of digital certificates.
The Certification Authority (CA) plays a very important role in digital security management. In addition to being an independent third-party organization, it can also be connected with other subordinate organizations.
The Certification Authority will issue a Root Certificate, which is used to verify other lower-level certificates and issue an Intermediate Certificate. Finally, the Intermediate Certificate will issue an End Entity Certificate to the user. Establish layers of digital security protection to form a certificate chain (also called a trust chain).
For example, Taiwan’s government agencies have such a chain of credentials.
The Government Certification Authority (GRCA) established by the Ministry of Digital Affairs issues Government Root credentials and can certify intermediate certificates of lower-level agencies. For example, an intermediate certificate issued by the Ministry of Interior Certificate Authority (MOICA). This intermediate certificate can be re-issued terminal credentials, a citizen digital certificate, to the public. So that people can obtain the government’s digital services through citizen digital certificates, and conduct online tax filing, household registration, etc.
So, how do we apply for and obtain digital certificates from the Certificate Authority? Let’s take a look at the digital credential application process!
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