Search code examples
cryptographyopensslrsa

Public key fingerprint vs Digital Signature


How do the Public key fingerprint and Digital Signature differs ? Or both are same ? if they are different, what is the application of public key fingerprint ?

Thanks


Solution

  • a public key fingerprint is a short sequence of bytes used to authenticate or look up a longer public key. Fingerprints are created by applying a cryptographic hash function to a public key. Since fingerprints are shorter than the keys they refer to, they can be used to simplify certain key management tasks

    A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for demonstrating the authenticity of a digital message or document. A valid digital signature gives a recipient reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender, and that it was not altered in transit. Digital signatures are commonly used for software distribution, financial transactions, and in other cases where it is important to detect forgery or tampering

    A public key fingerprint is a short version of a public key which is used to authenticate a longer public key, if they do not match that means that the longer public key has been tampered with. So basically a digital signature is something that is signed by a user which only that user can sign so you can be sure that it is coming from that user.

    So a public key fingerprint is used by a client and the digital signature is used by the server