How useful it is to issue digital certificates on the blockchain?

Blog content:

Blockchain technology is used in several ways in varied industries for offering high-security managing distribution systems and recording valuable information. Blockchain records all transactions without any verification from third parties. An evolving issue in recent years is - counterfeiting certification. It is posing serious threats to people. Issuing paper-based certificates manually is prone to errors and time- consuming. Day by day, the number of people's data is increasing, so deploying a system for both issuing and verifying digital certificates based on blockchain technology can solve issues of forged documents.

What is the current problem with document certification?

Many organisations and businesses need original documents for verification purposes before further processing. Some valuable documents like (birth certificates) exist only once. Parties involved in verification and issuing other certificates may experience hesitancy to handle these sensitive documents and that can result in damage or even loss. Many parties are unable to protect the valuable physical pieces of paper with this process. Another big problem comes from data theft. Many people have reported it. So the question comes: how can this issue be solved? Creating digital proof or digital certificates certified or signed by respective institutions or authorised organisations can be beneficial. With blockchain-based digital certificates, you can access and verify the digital asset's authenticity without depending on any intermediary or third party. Traditional data records like paper files deteriorate over time. storing records like digital certificates on the blockchain can help in safeguarding sensitive credentials from destruction & damage. Blockchain document security methods can help users seamlessly secure their sensitive documents.

What about blockchain solutions?

Blockchain technology has brought a revolution in storing and sharing data. The mechanism of cryptography helps in keeping information fully secured. Blockchain offers a digital ledger or decentralised database of data. Centred on computer networks that approve updates before data get recorded and verified. It lessens the reliance and vulnerability of centralised data storage. Instead of handling physical pieces of documents, issuing and storing digital certificates in blockchain can be advantageous to users. You can efficiently utilise the benefits of blockchain, like - authentication, encryption and decentralisation. Every certificate consists of references of both issuer and receiver with a hash (a sign of document), that is stored in the public database. It is identical in the number of computers throughout the globe. These digital certificates with blockchain technology have vital additional advantages over any other certificates.

How does blockchain make digital certificates work?

When a digital certificate is issued, data gets digitised. A digital identity gets assigned to every certificate. All of the digital certificates are tagged as well as traceable. Original documents are stored safely in the computer networks in the blockchain which are known as nodes. In totality, blockchain makes digital certificates highly transparent and secured. It also makes it easy to unfurl any fraud because this technology can expose any forged or outdated certificates.

Are these digital certificates tamper-proof?

Yes, the digital certificates are tamper-proof not by just signing but right after the beginning of the transaction. A signing algorithm produces a signature that is encrypted through a private key. The digital signature in these certificates can never be forged without having access to the private key of the user or members. With the help of document security QR codes, users can secure their valuable credentials.

What are the potential benefits of issuing digital certificates on the blockchain?

Blockchain has evolved to be beneficial for the financial industry. This technology is the most talked about and sought-after technology used in the world. There are innumerable benefits of issuing digital certificates on the blockchain. Some of them are here: a) Require fewer resources for issuance: Issuance and maintenance of digital certificates on the blockchain require a very less number of resources. As a result, the whole process saves time, effort and human capital. b) Digital certificates are conveyable: Contrary to physical certificates, the digital ones issued on the blockchain need not be carried around every place. Digital certificates are there to exist for a lifetime. These certificates can be easily accessed on any of your devices from any part of the world. c) Ideal as Identity proof: Digital certificates based on blockchain are the best substitution for the traditional proofs of paper identification. Digital certificates are issued on a highly secured framework of blockchain which is fully secured. These verifiable certificates can be easily traced all the way back to an issuer. This method makes the procedure transparent. You can use the blockchain document security method for securing and storing your valuable documents. d) Gives overall data security: Paper certificates can also take days and months to get issued and dispatched. Paper certificates can be altered without issuing the institute's knowledge and that is risky. Digital certificates issued on the blockchain can not be altered by any person. If someone tries to tamper with it, then verification will fail. This makes data in your digital certificates fully secured as well as traceable. e) No third party requirement: Blockchain verification of digital certificates can be performed by any person having access to the network. There is no need for any third party interference for verification. Digital certificates can be verified even if any organisation that issued them no longer exists. f) For micro-credentialing: Every data remains encrypted in the digital certificates issued on the blockchain. Organisations or businesses can issue "micro-credentialing" for recognizing, career skills, learning and so on. It can help both students and organisations. g) Comes at an affordable cost: Using blockchain is not expensive. With the help of the blockchain-powered platform, you can issue digital certificates for numerous services with ease. You may need no extra software or hardware and be done with an internet connection. So in nutshell, the unique features of blockchain technology make issuing digital certificates easy and tamper-proof. Blockchain technology simplifies and facilities the entire process of issuance of digital certificates. It also helps in the easy transfer of these certificates leading to the expansion of contents and information. We hope in the next few years, more and more organisations will come forward in embracing digital certificates issuance on the blockchain. A blockchain document security system can help you to secure sensitive credentials with ease.

Are Digital Certificates Secure?

Posted on March 29, 2024

What do you think of when you hear the word digital certificate? You might automatically think of the digital certificate issued by an online certificate maker, like ProofEasy. However, that’s not what we’ll be discussing in this blog. Here, we’ll talk about how secure a TLS or SSL certificate actually is.

But before we do that, let’s understand what a digital certificate (aka TLS and SSL certificate) actually is.

What is a digital certificate?

Digital certificates are online documents that contain important information about a business or its website, like organization, common name, public key, and validity period. This information is used to validate the organization’s identity.

Besides, they help encrypt data exchanged between a user’s browser and the website. Interestingly, this helps the browser maintain a secure connection and keeps bad actors out. Wondering who issue these documents digital? Such digital certificates are issued by trust-worthy third parties called the certifying authority.

Simply put, the small lock icon on your web browser’s address bar and the presence of HTTPS before a site’s address are common signs that they’re secure and have a valid digital certificate. Although a digital certificate is key to keeping your information safe when you’re browsing online, how secure are they really? Let’s take a look.

How Secure is a Digital Certificate?

A digital certificate has plenty of vulnerable spots, including:

Fake or compromised certificate authorities: Since a certifying authority is crucial for document certification, it’s essential that these authorities are reliable. However, bad actors might intercept the connection and issue fake digital certificates for a website you’re accessing. If the fake mimics a real certificate in most aspects, it’ll be approved by your browser. This makes it incredibly simple for hackers to monitor and steal information during your interaction with the website.
Phishing attacks remain an issue: Although a certifying authority is important to certify documents, sophisticated and smart bad actors might find a way around this. If they can’t breach the certifying authority, they might create a fake website and outfit it with a real-looking fake digital certificate. Again, they might be able to bypass your browser’s security mechanism and engineer a phishing attack to steal confidential information.
An expired certificate can be misused: You’d think a website with a lapsed validity would be the least of your worries. You’d be wrong in assuming that. An expired certificate can be used to attack your web browser and steal your personal or financial data for personal gain.
Lousy encryption technology: Encryption is an important part of a digital certificate. But what happens when a website uses an older and vulnerable version of the encryption technology? It leaves your browser open to online attacks from hackers who can bypass the security system easily.
Misconfiguration is a major issue: While the issues listed might seem serious, they have nothing on a website with a legitimate and valid certificate that’s misconfigured. It’s like having a smoke alarm at your home, but forgetting to change the batteries. You’d rest assured that the digital certificate will do its job. Instead, it just makes you more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Despite the host of issues, regular maintenance and upkeep will keep the security system intact and keep attackers out.