Friday 27 July 2012

Securing Microsoft Office Document and Email through Digital IDs [Part 3 of a 4-Part Series]

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The dawn of the digital era has brought humans utmost convenience in terms of communication but along with this commodity comes an identity and security risk. Nowadays, snail mails are no longer being used as primary channels for communication between people from different locations, and documents are no longer being drafted using pen and paper. Instead, people and organizations now are exchanging correspondence through electronic mails and create important documents digitally. While this seems to be advantageous for enterprises as they save cost for paper and pen supplies, it also brings a large threat on the security of their data.

Majority, if not all, businesses and individuals are using Microsoft Outlook to check emails, and Microsoft Office to create documents. Since these are considered intangible assets unless printed out, it is way more difficult to verify if they are from a trusted source and if their contents have not been altered by any third party. This problem with the integrity of documents may be addressed by Digital IDs as these identify the real identity of the author and serves as a certifying body that the signer of the document is real and not a bogus one.

As per the email, cryptography is the technology primarily used to encrypt the content to allow for viewing only to the authorized recipients. With so many emails being sent and received every day, emails have been the target of malware, virus, phishing, and other internet attacks. GlobalSign Email Security solutions allow the owner of a Digital ID to digitally sign and encrypt email (using standards based S/MIME) to prove legitimacy of personal and company email, making it tamper-proof and keeping it safe from prying eyes. Digital IDs can also be used to securely authenticate you to an online service via the inbuilt SSL VPN capabilities of your browser.

To meet customers’ growing digital security needs,GlobalSign has partnered with Microsoft to bring the best and the strongest security catering both personal and corporate needs. Below you’ll find the Digital ID solution GlobalSign offers:


Keywords: PersonalSign, Digital ID, GlobalSign, Email encryption, document sign

We'd be glad to hear from you, contact us at:
(+65) 3158 0349
sales-apac@globalsign.com
www.globalsign.com.sg

Thursday 19 July 2012

A Closer Look at Digital IDs [Part 2 of 4 of Digital ID Series]

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Living in a Digital World, you may have come across the term Digital ID several times while you are searching over the internet. It is the electronic counterpart of government issued identity cards presented in lieu of a physical ID to prove identity or right to access information or services online.

On the previous post, we had a brief introduction to Digital IDs. This week, we will be providing an in-depth view and analysis of what a Digital ID is, what and how it is used, and why it is a must-have.


What is a Digital ID?

A Digital ID, sometimes called a Digital Certificate, is basically used to prove one’s identity online. It can be very useful especially if you are always doing online transactions.

An example of where you can use the Digital ID to prove your identity is when you do online banking. Most banks require their users an identification card to proceed with a transaction. But that is only efficient and possible if you are physically doing the transaction inside a real office. What if you are doing the transaction online? To be free of the hassle of sending out a copy of your documents to prove your identity, you may opt to just have a Digital ID installed and this will do the trick for your authentication needs.

Apart from proving identities, Digital IDs may also be used for protecting the integrity of the contents of documents and emails. Without a digital ID, altering the content of emails and documents done composed through Microsoft Office or Adobe Document is just a walk in the park. But with the cryptography technology employed by a Digital ID, you can be sure that the content of your emails and documents is intact and was not altered by a third party invader.

There are a number of digital IDs; some issued to websites, and some distributed to individuals for personal of business needs. All of these IDs are most of the time issued by a trusted Certification Authority like GlobalSign.

GlobalSign is one of the most trusted Certification Authority offering a number of digital IDs namely: which are ideal for enterprises, individuals, and small businesses.


What do I get from a Digital ID?

Aside from proving your identity and protecting the content of your documents, there a number of other things you can do with a Digital ID.  You’ll find below what these are:

  • Authentication
    • A digital ID will guarantee the authenticity of the signer of the document or email. This is important to be know who participated in the transaction. It also gives the bearer an enhanced security giving access only to the legit owner and prohibits access to someone fraudulently purporting to be the document/email’s owner.

  • Integrity
    • Digital IDs protect the integrity of the data being sent or the document composed to make sure that it has not been forged or altered either intentionally or accidentally. How this is monitored is through looking at the hash of the signed document or email. Technically, a digital signature includes a hash of the overall document or email being signed. Any change to the document after it is signed would invalidate the digital hash.

  • Non-Repudiation
    • Non-repudiation means that information cannot be disclaimed, similar to a witnessed handwritten signature on a paper document. 





How can I get a Digital ID?

Digital IDs are issued by trusted Certification Authorities. These CAs vet the identity of the person or company requesting for a Digital ID first before they issue the certificates to make sure they are real and existing.  

If you are planning to get a Digital ID for your personal or business needs, it is best to identify first which CA can best cater your security requirements. If you are running your own ecommerce business, a Certification Authority trusted by your target market will be the best choice for higher conversion rates. 

GlobalSign has been one of the leading and most trusted certification authorities with over 16 years of experience.


Why do I need a Digital ID?

Anyone who has been navigating through the internet for years may easily notice that there are a lot of bogus accounts in forum and social networking sites. Many are faking accounts either by assuming identities, or by entering incomplete or inaccurate information when registering an online account. This makes it hard for internet users to trust just any person or website without verifying their real identities.

A Digital ID may offer a resolution to this problem since it is capable of proving one’s identity online. What more, it provides complete security protection against cybercrimes and phishing attacks which number rises along with the growing popularity of online shopping, electronic banking, and other online services. This is done through encryption which translates a plain text into a secret language which only the authorized person can view and access. 


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Get your own Digital ID, send us an email or contact us at (+65) 3158 0349.

Keywords: Digital ID, Certification Authority, authenticity, GlobalSign

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Digital IDs: Have You Heard of Them? [Part 1 of a 4 Part Series]

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Long gone was the time when people primarily use a pen and paper to write their documents. Almost everyone now use Microsoft Office and Outlook to manage, view, and alter documents and emails. While this may be convenient, it also leaves some users the dilemma of determining the authenticity and integrity of the document or email they receive daily. And as more and more people and organizations go paper-less, the harder it gets for people to validate the identity of the person behind a document or an email.

A digital signature is what’s needed to verify the sender’s identity and keep the content intact. Signatures like this use a technology called cryptography to ensure the authenticity of the identity of the sender of the message or the signer of the document, and possibly to ensure that the original content of the message is not tampered.

A key indication that the document is trusted and digitally signed by a user whose identity is already verified by the issuing certificate authority.


Another thing that’s good with digital signatures is that they could not be easily imitated by just any user and that they can be used with any message regardless if it is encrypted or not. Through Digital IDs, one can have a three-fold benefit of ensuring authenticity, keeping document integrity, and non-repudiation of content.

GlobalSign offers a range of Digital IDs for use across the suite of Microsoft® Office products including Microsoft® Word®, Microsoft® Excel®, Microsoft® PowerPoint® & Microsoft® Outlook®.

To learn more of GlobalSign’s Digital IDs, visit www.globalsign.com.sg or contact us at (+65) 3158 0349 to get a free quote.


Keywords: Digital Signature, Document Sign



Thursday 5 July 2012

Another Phishing Attacks Targets Live Mail Users

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An email masquerading as a legit one from the Hotmail Security Team is sent to Windows Live users threatening them of account suspension should they not verify their account using the embedded link:


The unsuspecting user will then be redirected to the fake site where the phisher can see the users’ log in credentials.


How Do You Know You’re on the Legit Site

It’s all in the address bar. If the website you are browsing is encrypted with an SSL Certificate, then HTTPS must appear on the address bar.  You will also see a padlock which when clicked, shows you the identity of the owner of the website which was already verified by a trusted Certification Authority like GlobalSign.





We'd be glad to hear from you, contact us at 
GlobalSign China / +86 4006 151251 / sales-china@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Hong Kong / +852 5808 0618 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Philippines / +63 2 8225589 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Singapore / (SG free call) 800 1012546 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Australia (AU free call) 1800 447 568 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Thailand / (SG free call) 800 1012546 / sales-apac@globalsign.com


Wednesday 4 July 2012

Your Donations May End Up in Criminals' Hands

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Be extra careful when casting donations online. The money you intend to hand the less fortunate may end up in the hands of criminals.

Fake Red Cross emails lead people to a PayPal account not owned by the organization.


Be extra vigilant the next time you send donations. Make sure you are on Red Cross' dedicated HTTPS protected web forms. This should be the only webpage through which online donations are made. If you are not a keen observer, you may end up being helped instead of you giving help.


Because It Pays to be Clever

Do not let your good intentions be instruments for criminals to carry out their evil plans. Be smart, learn more of website security. Visit www.globalsign.com.sg to find out more of how SSL certificates can secure your every transaction. 

We'd be glad to hear from you, contact us at 
GlobalSign China / +86 4006 151251 / sales-china@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Hong Kong / +852 5808 0618 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Philippines / +63 2 8225589 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Singapore / (SG free call) 800 1012546 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Australia (AU free call) 1800 447 568 / sales-apac@globalsign.com
GlobalSign Thailand / (SG free call) 800 1012546 / sales-apac@globalsign.com