KNC501/KNC601 Constitution of India, Law and Engineering
Chapter 16: Electronic Governance
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Appendix
Secure Electronic Records and Digital Signatures
Secure Electronic Record
Where any security procedure has been applied to an electronic record at a specific point of time. Then such record shall be deemed to be a secure electronic record from such point of time to the time of verification.
Secure Digital Signature
If, by application of a security procedure agreed to by the parties concerned, it can be verified that a digital signature, at the time it was affixed, was-
- Unique to the subscriber affixing it.
- Capable of identifying such subscriber.
Created in a manner or using a means under the exclusive control of the subscriber and is linked to the electronic record to which it relates in such a manner that if the electronic record was altered the digital signature would be invalidated then such digital signature shall be deemed to be a secure digital signature.
Digital Signature
- According to section 2(1)(p)of the Information Technology Act, 2000 digital signature means the authentication of any electronic record by a person who has subscribed for the digital signature in accordance to the procedure mentioned under section 3 of the same act.
- Section 5of the Information Technology Act, 2000 gives legal recognition to digital signatures.
Usage of Digital Signature:
1) Personal Use
It is at the liberty of the individual to use the signature personally without creating the hassle to personally be at the given place.
2) Business
Professions such as Architecture, Construction and Engineering Companies require to sign the tenders, market procurements or even biddings, Digital signature can prove to be a great way to provide the assent.
3) Return filing for GST
GST filing and E-filing causes the individuals to compulsory opt for Digital Signatures.
4) Filing for Income Tax
Some corporations require the business to file the tax all over India, thus saving the light of the day.
Features of Digital Signature:
1) The authenticity of the sender
The person who receives the electronic message or document is able to realize who the sender of the message is. The digital signature makes it possible to verify the name of the person signing the message digitally.
2) The integrity of the message
The receiver of the electronic message is able to determine whether he/she has received the original document or whether the document has been altered before the receipt or not.
3) Non- Repudiation
The sender of the message cannot refute the contents of the electronic message and cannot deny that he/she had never sent the message.
Authentication using Digital Signature
The authentication of the electronic record is done by creating a digital signature which is a mathematical function of the message content. Such signatures are created and verified by Cryptography, which is a branch of applied mathematics. It is used to secure the confidentiality and authentication of the data by replacing it with a transformed version that can be reconverted to reveal the original data only to someone who has the proper key.
- A key is a sequence of symbols that controls the operation of a cryptographic transformation.
- It involves two processes which are as follows.
- Encryption: The process of transforming the plain message into a cipher text.
- Decryption: The reversal of Cipher text into the original message.
Benefits of Digital Signature
- Authenticity
- Non-Deviability
- Message cannot be altered in between the transmission
