Digital signatures for emails and PDF documents
Digital signatures for emails and PDF documents
Digital signatures can be used to ‘sign’ or encrypt emails or PDF documents . In this context, an electronic signature confirms that the email in question really was sent by the sender as stated. In the case of a PDF document, a valid electronic signature confirms that the person in question has actually signed the document themselves. Furthermore, in both cases, digital signatures ensure that the file in question (email/PDF) has not been altered since it was signed.
Digital signatures at the University of Oldenburg are based on the principle of ‘public-private key’ infrastructure (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetrisches_Kryptosystem). The user simply needs a file containing their personal certificate. This certificate is provided by an external provider, HARICA, and must then be installed in the relevant email or PDF programme.
Obtaining your personal digital certificate from HARICA
HARICA (Hellenic Academic & Research Institutions Certification Authority) is a trusted certification authority for digital certificates and electronic signatures, from which the University of Oldenburg obtains certificates for websites, amongst other things, as well as for individual users. The process for applying for and downloading a certificate is described below. At the end of the process, the user will receive a file in ‘p12’ format, which can then be used in other applications such as Outlook, Thunderbird or Tungsten PDF.
Quick guide:
- Go tohttps://cm.harica.gr/Login
- Academic Login -> University of Oldenburg
- Left-hand column: Email
- Email-only Select -> Next
- Next
- Tick the ‘Terms of Use’ box -> Submit
- Click on the link in the email in your inbox toconfirm
- Enrol
- Algorithm: RSA
- Key size: 4096
- Enter and confirm passphrase
- Enrol certificate
- Download the p12 file
Installing the certificate in Thunderbird (Windows, Linux, Mac)
Once you have downloaded HARICA, you can import your personal certificate (a file in ‘p12’ format) into Thunderbird so that you can use it to sign or encrypt emails.
Installing the certificate in Outlook (Windows)
Once you have downloaded HARICA, you can import your personal certificate (a file in ‘p12’ format) into Outlook to use it to sign or encrypt emails.
Installing the certificate in Outlook Online (formerly Webmail)
At present, there is no working plug-in for the < w.uol.de > webmail service at the University of Oldenburg. A so-called ‘S/MIME add-in’ must be installed for this purpose, which is not currently the case and cannot be done by users themselves.
Sending signed emails is therefore limited to Thunderbird or Outlook.
