The Importance of Digital Certificates in Business Communications

By: Lotfi AlSarori

As a software company that provides business software, web portals, and websites, we understand the importance of security and trust in the digital world.

At ESKADENIA Software, we take security and trust very seriously, and we believe that digital certificates are an essential tool for protecting our customers and ensuring the integrity of online transactions. That's why we implement digital certificates in all of our and our customers’ websites. Moreover, we implement the newer and more secure version of SSL, TLS. To know more about what ESKADENIA has to offer in the digital space, please visit our website to browse our products.

But what exactly are digital certificates, and why are they important?

In simple terms, a digital certificate is an electronic document that is used to authenticate the identity of a person, device, or website, and to establish trust online. They are issued by a third party called a certificate authority (CA), and they contain a variety of information about the identity of the certificate holder, including their name, organization, and the purpose of the certificate.

Digital certificates are used in a variety of contexts to establish trust and secure communication. For example, when you visit a website that has an SSL certificate, your browser checks the certificate to verify the identity of the website. This helps to protect against phishing attacks and other types of online fraud. Digital certificates can also be used to encrypt data transmitted between a website and a user's browser, using a process called "public key cryptography." It's analogous to sealing an envelope before mailing it. This helps to protect against cyber-attacks and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Key Benefits:

• Improved security: SSL certificates help to secure and encrypt data transmitted between your website and your customers' browsers, protecting against cyber-attacks and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
• Enhanced trust: When customers see the SSL certificate icon in their browser, they are more likely to feel secure and confident when conducting business with your company, which can improve customer trust and confidence in your business.
• Improved SEO: Google and other search engines give higher rankings to websites with SSL certificates in their search results, which can help to increase traffic to your website and improve your overall online visibility.
• Reduced risk of data breaches: An SSL certificate helps to reduce the risk of data breaches and costly security incidents, which can damage your business's reputation and bottom line.
• Compliance with industry standards: Many industries have regulations that require the use of SSL certificates to protect sensitive information. Having an SSL certificate can help your business to meet these standards and comply with industry regulations.

How does this all work?

The above was an overview of digital certificates, aka SSL certificates and their benefits. The following section discusses the technical details behind it and how all these technologies work to provide a secure browsing user experience.

Let’s begin by defining the basics starting with encryption.

What Is Encryption?

Encryption is the process of converting plaintext (readable text) into ciphertext (unreadable text) using a secret key. The purpose of encryption is to protect information from being accessed by unauthorized parties. It works by using mathematical algorithms to scramble the data in such a way that it can only be decrypted (converted back into plaintext) using the correct secret key. This ensures that only those with the correct key can access the information.

Encryption for HTTP

Encryption is widely used to protect sensitive information, such as financial transactions, personal data, and confidential business communications. It is also used to secure data transmitted over the Internet, such as when you visit a website using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure). HTTPS uses a protocol called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) to establish a secure, encrypted connection between a website and a user's browser, protecting against cyber-attacks and unauthorized access to sensitive information.    

Digital Certificates for the Web

To be able to utilize the security benefits of HTTPS, an SSL certificate is needed. An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that helps to secure and encrypt data transmitted over the Internet or network. It is an essential security tool that is necessary for any website to protect sensitive information, such as personal data or financial transactions. When you visit a website with an SSL certificate, the connection between your browser and the website's server is encrypted, which helps to protect against cyber-attacks and unauthorized access to your information. This can help to reduce the risk of data breaches and costly security incidents, which can damage your business's reputation and bottom line. This is especially important if you are collecting personal information from your customers or hosting an e-commerce website.

 
In addition to providing security for your customers, an SSL certificate can also bring numerous benefits to your business. Using SSL certificates can improve your search engine rankings. Google and other search engines give preference to websites with SSL certificates in their search results, which can help to increase traffic to your website and improve your overall online visibility.

 
An SSL certificate can also enhance the trustworthiness of your website and improve customer confidence in your business. When customers see the SSL certificate padlock icon in their browser, they are more likely to feel secure and confident when conducting business with your company. Today, web browsers show a warning if the visited website is not using HTTPS (i.e., does not implement an SSL Certificate).

 
Digital certificates are also often required to meet industry standards and comply with regulations, such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) for e-commerce websites.

 
Overall, an SSL certificate is a valuable tool for any business that wants to protect its website.

All working together

So how do SSL, TLS, HTTP, HTTPS, PKI, and Digital Certificates work together to provide secure web experiences?

To answer this question, let’s detail the role of each of these components in the process of secure digital communications.

• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) are security protocols that help to encrypt data transmitted over the internet. They work by establishing a secure connection between a website and a user's browser, using a process called "handshaking" to negotiate the security parameters for the connection.
• TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a newer and more secure version of SSL. It was developed as a result of vulnerabilities that were discovered in the SSL protocol, and it was designed to address these vulnerabilities and provide stronger security. TLS is the recommended protocol for securing data transmitted over the Internet and is widely used on the web.
• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a protocol that is used to transmit data over the internet. It is the foundation of the web, but it does not provide any security or encryption.
• HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP that uses SSL or TLS to encrypt data transmitted between a website and a user's browser. This helps to protect against cyber-attacks and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
• PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) is a system that uses a combination of digital certificates, public keys, and private keys to secure data transmitted over the internet. Digital certificates are issued by a third party called a certificate authority (CA), and they contain a public key that is used to encrypt data and a private key that is used to decrypt it.
• Digital certificates utilize digital signatures, which are electronic signatures that are used to authenticate the identity of a sender and the integrity of a message. They use a combination of cryptographic techniques and digital certificates to create a unique, tamper-proof signature that can be used to verify the authenticity of a message, document, or a website.

Overall, these technologies work together to provide a secure web experience by encrypting data transmitted over the internet and verifying the identity of websites and users.