Digital Signature Simulator

Visualize PKI concepts, sign and verify messages, explore public/private key pairs, and understand certificate chains

Overview

The Digital Signature Simulator provides hands-on experience with digital signatures and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Digital signatures prove authenticity (who sent the message), integrity (message hasn’t been tampered with), and non-repudiation (sender can’t deny sending it) by using private keys to sign and public keys to verify. This technology secures HTTPS websites, code signing, email encryption, and blockchain transactions through certificate chains that establish trust from end-entity certificates up to pre-trusted root Certificate Authorities.

Tips

  1. Test Tamper Detection: Sign a message, then modify even a single character before verification - watch how the signature verification immediately fails, demonstrating integrity protection
  2. Understand Key Relationships: Generate a public/private key pair, sign a message with the private key, then verify it with the public key - only the matching pair will work
  3. Explore Certificate Chains: Follow the chain of trust from an end-entity certificate up through intermediate certificates to the root CA to understand how HTTPS establishes trust
  4. Practice Multiple Signatures: Have multiple parties sign the same document to simulate real-world scenarios like contract co-signing or multi-party approvals
  5. Experiment with Hash Functions: Sign the same message using different hash algorithms (SHA-256, SHA-512) to see how the signature changes, understanding why strong hash functions are essential for security