“I’ve received an email that is digitally signed. What does that mean and how can I know the signature is valid?”
Like an ink signature on a document, a digital signature on an email is meant to guarantee authenticity. It’s like a digital thumbprint that is attached to an email to uniquely identify the sender and insure that the document has not been tampered with.
When you get an email in your PSMailbox that has been digitally signed you will see a notary symbol next to it (see below).
When you open this email, you will see that the digital signature appears as an attachment called “smime.p7s” with the same notary icon next to it. When you move your mouse over this icon you will see an option to “Verify digital signature.”
If you click the notary icon, the digital signature will be validated against a list of certificate authorities (Verisign, Comodo, etc.). If the certificate is valid and the message has not been tampered with, you will see the verification screen below.
If you have any further questions about digital signatures or email security, please don’t hesitate to contact us.