UNAIR NEWS – A Digital Signature can be easily found these days. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been used even more widely by the public. People consider digital signatures to be very common.
Despite being acknowledged, the security of digital signature information is still being questioned. Thus, are digital signatures safe to use?
A lecturer of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Engineering Faculty of Advanced Technology and Multidiscipline (FTMM) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Yutika Amelia Effendi, S.Kom., M.Kom., responded to the question. She said the power of digital signatures is the same as wet signatures on documents that are usually done face-to-face.
“The problem is when there is a third party with bad intention changing the message content of the private key and public key,” she said in a webinar entitled “Strengthening Cyber Security Toward Indonesian 5.0 Society” on Saturday, June 19, 2021.
Yutika explained that digital signature is a mathematical technique used to validate the authenticity and integrity of messages, software, and digital documents with two keys that are linked systematically: the private key and the public key. Each of them is held by the sender and receiver of the message.
The digital signature uses encryption and decryption techniques. These techniques are applied so that the message sent is received completely.
“The techniques aim to ensure that the recipient of the message receives the original message without any interference from irresponsible parties such as hackers,” explained the lecturer from Minang, West Sumatra.
The ITS alumnus said that the use of digital signatures has many benefits. Besides time-saving, cost-effective, and traceable, a timestamp on the digital signature can be used as validation.
“So the person who gives the signature cannot deny the fact when the signature was given because there is a time stamp already,” said Yutika.
In addition, digital signatures are also globally accepted and legally compliant. In Indonesia, the application of digital signatures is regulated by the ITE (Electronic Information and Transactions) Law.
She said digital signatures have been popularly used from the industrial to the educational world. However, Yutika said that cybercrime can always be a threat. She suggested being selective in sharing any data via the internet.
“What is important and private, keep it personal. Do not share it with the public. So what is published is only for public consumption. Therefore, our data privacy remains safe and is not misused by irresponsible third parties,” Yutika said. (*)
Author: Erika Eight Novanty
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia (YA/AP)
