What is a digital certificate?  

A digital certificate is, more or less, a means of digital identification used to prove the validity of a public key, usually assigned to an individual, website, organisation or device. Secure communication with the subject becomes possible if the signature is legitimate and the software trusts the issuer. The certificate includes details about the key, the identity of the owner and the digital signature. It can be used to sign a wide variety of documents, such as receipts and legal documents, but it can also be used when declaring tax reductions and transferring money.

TLS/SSL certificates

Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) are standard security technologies used to keep online transactions and logins secure; in other words, they are crucial for protecting web browser connections by encrypting data.

Code signing certificates

Code signing certificates are used to verify the legitimacy of programmes under development. Code signing verifies who is the author of the software, proving that the signed node has not been altered in any way, which is essential to build trust.

Customer certificates

Unlike TLS/SSL certificates, which handle website security and authentication, client certificates authenticate people or devices requesting access to important company data. User certificates work like passwords, but are much more secure as they eliminate the difficulty of memorising long and complicated codes.

Certification authorities

Websites can obtain public and private digital certificates from trusted organisations known as Certification Authorities (CA). A CA confirms the website's domain and will issue an appropriate TLS or SSL certificate according to a number of variables, such as website ownership.

Self-signed certificates

Self-signed certificates are those that have their own private key signed by an organisation or developer that controls the website, rather than a Certification Authority (CA). Consequently, they are considered highly dangerous by the public.

Advantages of using a digital certificate

Security

To prevent sensitive data from being stolen, digital certificates encrypt external and internal communications. In particular, TLS/SSL certificates have the ability to encrypt data transferred between a web browser and a website server.

Confidence

Digital certificates allow you to verify that a website and its content are genuine. Creating trust and promising customers that they are dealing with an authentic company that values their security and privacy.

Autenticidade

Os certificados digitais podem ser fundamentais para garantir a autenticidade da comunicação digital na era dos cyberattacks alargados, garantindo que as mensagens do utilizador chegam sempre ao beneficiário pretendido. Os certificados TLS/SSL encriptam websites e os certificados de assinatura de documentos podem ser utilizados para a partilha de documentos em linha.

Scalability

Whether you are a small or large business, digital certificates still have the ability to provide you with the same standard of encryption. Issuing, revoking and renewing certificates for your entire organisation can be done in a matter of clicks.