A digital certificate gives you a secure identity on the Web. It enables you to encrypt the messages that pass between you and your customer during transactions and enables the customer to check that you are you.

If you are careful in your handling of the certificate, using a digital certificate to conduct transactions over the Web is very secure, for both you and your customer. Proper security procedures, however, are crucial. Few security break-ins involve cracking the cryptography behind digital signatures. Instead, transactions are compromised because someone improperly handled the certificate -- perhaps by leaving it on an Internet-connected machine protected by an easily guessed password -- or left transaction information, such as credit-card numbers, accessible in a decrypted form.

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using a digital certificate to conduct transactions over the Web is very secure, for both you and your customer. Proper security procedures, however, are crucial. Few security break-ins involve cracking the cryptography behind digital signatures. Instead, transactions are compromised because someone improperly handled the certificate -- perhaps by leaving it on an Internet-connected machine protected by an easily guessed password -- or left transaction information, such as credit-card numbers, accessible in a decrypted form.

A large number of companies provide digital certificates, including VeriSign Inc., Entrust Technologies Ltd., IBM and GTE CyberTrust Solutions. All of them provide guides worth studying about proper security procedures.

Action items

Get together all the paperwork you will need to prove the identity of your business, such as notice of incorporation, notarized address details and any trademark documentation. After study or consultation, write a detailed security procedure document for handling your company's digital certificate. Consider hiring someone to do a detailed and regular security audit.

Find out more

Articles: On the frontline of an e-biz security audit Blow-by-blow account as one e-business undergoes a security audit. Includes information on what you can expect and what it'll cost. Security: A key challenge Read how e-business front-runners safeguard data using firewalls, virus scanning and intrusion detection. Related sites and resources: Link vault: Digital certificates Directory of digital certificate providers Verifying identity in a digital world A good backgrounder on digital certificate technology Digital certficates Another good backgrounder; extensively sourced. Free guides from VeriSign Free guides from Thawte

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