What are the Challenges Associated With Traditional Certificates, and How Can They Be Overcome?

digital certificate

Traditional certificates have been used since time immemorial at educational institutions,  government organizations, and other entities around the world to authenticate some information about an individual, a group of individuals, or an entity. However, paper-based certificates suffer from several issues, such as tampering, forgery, and more. This is where digital certificates come in. Wondering what is digital certificate? Let’s find out.

What is a Digital Certificate?

A digital certificate, or verifiable credential, is a digital copy of paper-based certificates or a fresh digital certificate hosted on the blockchain to verify the authenticity of information. These certificates being issued using blockchain are immutable, can be verified instantly, and are impossible to alter or lose.

Moreover, not everyone can issue a digital certificate, only authorized organizations complying with the regulations and rules listed in the Verifiable Credentials Data Model 1.0 by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). They must also conform to the following criteria: the issued certificate must be tamper-proof, must be verifiable by machines, and must employ privacy enhancing measures like DIDs (decentralized identifiers). So this removes the chances of fake authorities issuing digital certificates.

However, the same can’t be said for traditional certificates since they don’t have a governing body and can easily be issued by anyone with the required stationery.

Problems Associated With Traditional Certificates

There are several problems associated with traditional certificates, including:

1.     Can be easily copied

Traditional certificates can be easily copied by anyone who has access to the required stationery, the design template of the issuing authority, and the stamp used to validate the issued certificate. It promotes opportunities for forgery and increases the rotation of fake certificates in the world. This makes it difficult to differ between fake and real certificates and requires a lot of time and effort to validate a certificate.

2. Can be altered

Since these certificates are paper-based, they can be altered with someone possessing some finesse and knowledge about paper, ink, and certificates. This makes them susceptible to tampering.

3. Validation is complex

Paper-based certificates are quite challenging to verify and validate. For starters, an authenticator would have to track down the issuing authority. They would then have to give them a call or drop them an email listing the issue. This entire process isn’t just time and effort intensive, it also allows fake certificate makers ample chances to cover their tracks and validate the fake certificates generated.

4. Issuance, filing, and management takes a lot of time

Managing the issued certificates is a big challenge. They have to be filed adequately and maintained properly to ensure that the seeker can track them down after a few years, too. Moreover, finding traditional certificates takes a lot of time. Additionally, they can’t be issued in bulk. They have to be issued one by one and signed and stamped individually, too.

Issue Digital Certificates With ProofEasy Instantly

ProofEasy is a blockchain and QR code platform that lets you customize the template and issue digital certificates in bulk. This online certificate maker makes issuance, filing, management, and authentication hassle-free. Moreover, the issued certificates are immutable and can’t be stolen. Ready to issue your digital certificates, too? Contact ProofEasy now!