Question

Part 01

It is stated that digital signatures are more secure than handwritten signatures. Give three (3) arguments to support the above statement and one (1) argument to counter the above statement.

Part 02

Briefly explain two (02) advantage of a Public Key Cryptosystem (PKC) over asymmetric cryptosystem (shared secret key) from the perspective of networking.

Answer 1

PART 01

SUPPORT

1. Digital being added to almost anything makes it a lot faster than the non-digital version of that thing. Similarly, a digital signature can be used to send documents a lot faster, almost instantaneously, as the documents can now be sent via mail and do not need to be delivered in person or via courier.
2. Also, an added advantage would be the decreased cost of sending the documents as the digital signatures are comparatively a lot less expensive than any courier service charge for sending documents.
3. Not only this, a document sent via courier or in person could be tampered with on the way but when sent using a digital signature it gets encrypted in such a way that any kind of tampering with the document is not possible.

AGAINST

1. The advantages greatly overshadow the disadvantages. Practically the only disadvantages of using digital signature are the weak laws regarding cybersecurity which might cause any unnecessary hassles in case of a court case and that both parties have to purchase the certificates for the digital signature in order to use it instead of the one-party courier charge.

PART 02

1. More secure than passwords: A malicious user must obtain both the private key and the corresponding passphrase to pose as a legitimate user.
2. Provides stronger identity-checking through secret private keys.