Articles by Dr. Abhishek Ghosh

A digital signature, which is not same as electronic signature have emerged as a cornerstone of security and authentication. Digital signatures have a broad usage including password-less login to SSH session. While it is true that key-based SSH login is more secure than using a password, unfortunately relying only on one authentication method is not sufficient. In case of server, to make the SSH … [Read more...]

GNU Privacy Guard, abbreviated GnuPG or GPG, is a free cryptography system. It is used to encrypt and decrypt data, as well as to generate and verify digital signatures. The program implements the OpenPGP standard according to RFC 4880 and was developed as a replacement for PGP. Versions 2.0 and later also implement the S/MIME and PGP/MIME standards. By default, GnuPG uses only patent-free … [Read more...]

In computer security, a Sybil attack is an attack on peer-to-peer networks by creating false identities. The attack can, for example, aim to influence majority votes and the network organization, to specifically slow down the network, to disrupt the networking in the network, or to intercept communications between other peers. The name comes from the book Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber from 1973, … [Read more...]

In cryptology, Web of Trust (WOT) is the idea of securing the authenticity of digital keys through a network of mutual confirmations (signatures), combined with the individually assigned trust in the confirmations of others ("owner trust"). It is a decentralized alternative to the hierarchical PKI system. Public key encryption offers the advantage (compared to symmetric encryption) that the key … [Read more...]

At its core, a digital signature is a cryptographic scheme that enables the verification of the authenticity and integrity of a digital message or document. It involves the use of mathematical algorithms to generate a unique digital fingerprint, or signature, for a specific piece of data. We have discussed the basics of digital signature in our earlier articles. In the case of digital signatures, … [Read more...]

Confusion between Electronic Signatures and Digital Signature is a common problem. When I write "Abhishek Ghosh" on a paper, you name it as "ink signature". If you write "Abhishek Ghosh" on S24 Ultra with my S Pen, that becomes an electronic signature. A digital signature is a cryptographic method which we have explained in our earlier article. While both terms are often used interchangeably, … [Read more...]

In an era marked by increasing cybersecurity threats and data breaches, ensuring secure authentication mechanisms is crucial for individuals and organizations alike. While traditional methods such as passwords and PINs offer some level of security, they are susceptible to various vulnerabilities like phishing attacks, brute-force attempts, and password reuse. Hardware security tokens provide an … [Read more...]

In an increasingly digital world, the need for secure and trustworthy communication, transactions, and document management is paramount. A digital signature is an asymmetric cryptosystem in which a sender uses a secret signing key (the private key) to calculate a value for a digital message (i.e., any data). This value allows anyone to check the indisputable authorship and integrity of the message … [Read more...]