Public key cryptography, which is available from us, here at Digi-Sign, requires the use of a private key and a public key. As an added security feature, some organizations will also embed an X509 certificate with the public key. The basic configuration used is where one person holds the private key and issues a public key. The public key is sent to people, who can use the public key to send encrypted messages to the holder of the public key. The embedded certificate feature is a digital signature which cannot be duplicated and prevents someone from attempting to replicate a public key.
How Does an X509 Certificate Work?
How does an X509 certificate work? Simply put, when you send an encrypted message to someone, their computer reads the public key and pairs it back with their private key. The certificate is also factored into how the computer decodes the message, because the private key will first look for this certificate to recognize that the encrypted message is from a trusted source. Without this certificate, the message will not be opened and will be recognized as being a fake message.