Digital Signature vs Digital Certificate: Proving Data vs Proving Identity
Overview A digital signature is a cryptographic value that proves a specific piece of data is authentic and unaltered, generated by encrypting a hash with a private key. A digital certificate is a CA-issued document that binds a public key to an identity, giving others a trusted way to know whose key they’re using. Confusing the two leads to designs that either can’t verify who signed something or can’t verify what was actually signed. ...