Similar: digital certificates and drivers’ licenses are certified documents issued by government agencies. They all have legal and valid identification documents.
Difference: Digital certificate authentication can help organizations ensure that only trusted devices and users can connect to their network. Drivers’ licenses prove that users are qualified to legally drive vehicles on the road.
I agree with your claims. To expand on your work, I found it interesting how digital signatures that can be related to both certificates and drivers’ licenses, prevents basic security problems. For example, if two parties are exchanging digital documentation, a signature protects the data and reassures the recipient that the document has not been altered from a possible attacker. The recipient then has some verification operation that confirms that the signature data matches the sender and the document (Vacca Chapter 48).
Vacca Chapter 48 identifies the digital signature as the most important cryptographic operation in PKI systems. A digital certificate can also be defined as an electronic document which is used when communicating over the internet and allows one to confirm the ownership of a public key / its sender by checking the digital signature; in other words, a digital certificate along with digital signature will authenticate the identity of an applicant. On the contrary, a driver’s license is defined as an official document which is used to ensure that a given person can operate one or multiple vehicles on a public roadway without in-vehicle supervision. The verifier of the driving license (typically a uniformed officer) will look up the validity of the document / permit and compare the attached photograph to the driver. Only the driving license signed by authority will confirm the identity of the person. I would argue that digital certificates and drivers’ licenses are similar with regards to how they are obtained. For example, a driver’s license requires one an “appropriate body”, submit personal information and have your identity checked to prove you are who you say you are. Similarly, digital certificates obtain vital / confidential information about an individual, machine, or company that is associated with a digital identity via a key pair made of public and private key.
You’ll be surprised to know that server administrators frequently create self-signed “wildcard” certificates on-demand using free, OpenSSL. While quick and easy, this practice significantly erodes trust because no trusted third-party CA ever verifies these certificates.
Using a wildcard certificate on a publicly facing webserver increases the risk that cybercriminals will use the server to host malicious websites in phishing campaigns. To eliminate this problem, organizations should avoid using wildcard certificates on production systems, especially public-facing ones. Instead, use subdomain-specific certificates that are rotated often.
Digital certificate is defined as an electronic document which is used for proving the ownership of a public key. A driver’s license is defined as an official document which is used for stating that the person can operate one or more vehicles on a public roadway without in-vehicle supervision. The verifier of the digital certificate will look up the public key of the digital certificate for checking digital signature. The verifier of the driving license will look up the validity and also the photo of the person attached. Digital certificate with digital signature will authenticate the identity of the applicant. Lastly, Only the driving license signed by authority will confirm the identity of the person.
Digital certificate is a digital identity of a person much like a driver license. Digital certificate relies on digital cryptography; a sophisticated, mathematically proven method of encrypting and decrypting information. A digital certificate contains information about the owner’s identity e.g., their name, email address, the date the digital certificate was issued and the name of the Certifying Authority that issued it. The certificate also contains the public key. The private key (correspond to the public key) is stored on the user’s computer hard disk or on an external device such as a smart card. The user retains the control of the private key and it can only be used with the issued password or PIN.
A Drivers Licence is an official document used by an authorized agency of the law or legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public road. Such licenses are often plastic and the size of a credit card.
Hi Oluwaseu,
I like your detailed explanation. With the development of science and technology, digitalization is increasingly valued. Bitcoin, NFT, and blockchain. . . Some digital media collections are also becoming popular. Perhaps in the future, all official authorization documents may be replaced by digital IDs, and people will use their biological keys to retain control of the official authorization documents.
Similar: digital certificates and drivers’ licenses are certified documents issued by government agencies. They all have legal and valid identification documents.
Difference: Digital certificate authentication can help organizations ensure that only trusted devices and users can connect to their network. Drivers’ licenses prove that users are qualified to legally drive vehicles on the road.
Hi Yangyuan,
I agree with your claims. To expand on your work, I found it interesting how digital signatures that can be related to both certificates and drivers’ licenses, prevents basic security problems. For example, if two parties are exchanging digital documentation, a signature protects the data and reassures the recipient that the document has not been altered from a possible attacker. The recipient then has some verification operation that confirms that the signature data matches the sender and the document (Vacca Chapter 48).
Vacca Chapter 48 identifies the digital signature as the most important cryptographic operation in PKI systems. A digital certificate can also be defined as an electronic document which is used when communicating over the internet and allows one to confirm the ownership of a public key / its sender by checking the digital signature; in other words, a digital certificate along with digital signature will authenticate the identity of an applicant. On the contrary, a driver’s license is defined as an official document which is used to ensure that a given person can operate one or multiple vehicles on a public roadway without in-vehicle supervision. The verifier of the driving license (typically a uniformed officer) will look up the validity of the document / permit and compare the attached photograph to the driver. Only the driving license signed by authority will confirm the identity of the person. I would argue that digital certificates and drivers’ licenses are similar with regards to how they are obtained. For example, a driver’s license requires one an “appropriate body”, submit personal information and have your identity checked to prove you are who you say you are. Similarly, digital certificates obtain vital / confidential information about an individual, machine, or company that is associated with a digital identity via a key pair made of public and private key.
Elizabeth,
You’ll be surprised to know that server administrators frequently create self-signed “wildcard” certificates on-demand using free, OpenSSL. While quick and easy, this practice significantly erodes trust because no trusted third-party CA ever verifies these certificates.
Using a wildcard certificate on a publicly facing webserver increases the risk that cybercriminals will use the server to host malicious websites in phishing campaigns. To eliminate this problem, organizations should avoid using wildcard certificates on production systems, especially public-facing ones. Instead, use subdomain-specific certificates that are rotated often.
Digital certificate is defined as an electronic document which is used for proving the ownership of a public key. A driver’s license is defined as an official document which is used for stating that the person can operate one or more vehicles on a public roadway without in-vehicle supervision. The verifier of the digital certificate will look up the public key of the digital certificate for checking digital signature. The verifier of the driving license will look up the validity and also the photo of the person attached. Digital certificate with digital signature will authenticate the identity of the applicant. Lastly, Only the driving license signed by authority will confirm the identity of the person.
Digital certificate is a digital identity of a person much like a driver license. Digital certificate relies on digital cryptography; a sophisticated, mathematically proven method of encrypting and decrypting information. A digital certificate contains information about the owner’s identity e.g., their name, email address, the date the digital certificate was issued and the name of the Certifying Authority that issued it. The certificate also contains the public key. The private key (correspond to the public key) is stored on the user’s computer hard disk or on an external device such as a smart card. The user retains the control of the private key and it can only be used with the issued password or PIN.
A Drivers Licence is an official document used by an authorized agency of the law or legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public road. Such licenses are often plastic and the size of a credit card.
Hi Oluwaseu,
I like your detailed explanation. With the development of science and technology, digitalization is increasingly valued. Bitcoin, NFT, and blockchain. . . Some digital media collections are also becoming popular. Perhaps in the future, all official authorization documents may be replaced by digital IDs, and people will use their biological keys to retain control of the official authorization documents.