The growing prominence of cyberattacks in the form of phishing and malware has poked the user to be aware of suspicious activities. Your personal and bank-related data are always at stake when you input them into an insecure website.

Even while downloading software, one needs the assurance that it is safe and has not been tempered. This assurance comes when you know that the software has been coded by the original publisher and not someone masquerading as him. Here, comes the need for a Cheap Code Signing Certificate. Let us take an insight into Code Signing Certificate to let you understand the reasons for using it clearly.

What is Code Signing Certificate?

A Code Signing Certificate is used to fortify that a software, app, and executable is free from any cyberattack. It ensures the legitimacy of that software. When an app is transferred from the developer’s end to the end user’s end it is not tempered when a Code Signing Certificate is encapsulated with it.

Code signing is a process in which executables and scripts are digitally signed to assure the software publisher and developer about software code integrity. It assures that the code is intact since it is signed and not modified.

To add to the point, Code Signing Certificate works to ensure- Validation and Integrity. It validates that an authorized publisher has written the software. Integrity because it makes sure that the software is not corrupt or has been altered by a third party.

How does it work?

Code Signing Certificate works on the principle of public key infrastructure (PKI). Here are two keys- The private key and the public key, which are generated at the time when a software publisher asks for a certificate from the certificate authority (CA).

These two cryptographic keys provide encryption to the code. The private key is used to sign the code and the public key authorizes the developer’s identity. The private key needs to be kept intact by the publisher after he/she has signed the code.

Once the CA receives the request it validates the publisher and on completion of the vetting process, the certificate is provided to the publisher to ensure its legitimacy.

5 reasons why Code Signing Certificate is beneficial

In the urge to keep our software secure from hackers, Code Signing Certificate is used. It is of high importance to developers. Below are a few reasons why one should use it,

• Validates code integrity

Code signing is used to check the integrity of the code at the user end. It ensures that the code has not been altered by an intruder. The hash function is used to check the integrity.

At the time of signing, a hash function along with the signature is placed. If the hash function at the time of download is the same at the user end, then the code integrity is maintained. If the hash function doesn’t match, then a security warning occurs, or the download fails to complete.

Integrity is also checked with an additional timestamp that can be placed along with the signature at the time of signing. This timestamp needs to be the same when the user downloads the software otherwise it is tempered.

• Issuing company reputation and authenticity

Code signing ensures that the code remains intact, and no tempering is done with it. This makes sure that no malware or phishing activity can happen on your device. This further enhances the customer’s trust in the company. The customer relies more on such firms with strong security measures. With the increasing trust, the loyalty of customers towards the firm also increases. Your company’s reputation can increase four folds in such scenarios. Hence, you can very well visualize how well your company can benefit from such a growing reputation.

• Increase in revenue

The code signing process makes sure that the publisher’s authenticity is verified by a trusted certificate authority. This makes the end-users trust the publisher. The end users find it reliable to download software or use apps of such secured developers.

The trust showed by the end-user results in an enhanced reputation for the company. The customers using the company’s software increases over time contributing to the revenue of the company.

• Seamless integration with multiple platforms

It is highly required that your code reaches the targeted audience seamlessly and uninterruptedly. You will surely not want to face a code rejection message popping up. Multiple platforms like Android, JAVA, Windows, Apple iOS etc. follow code signing process. These platforms require a code-signing process for code distribution.

There are many browsers including the search giant Google that requires a code signing certificate from a trusted and relevant certificate authority. Even Firefox and Microsoft office macros require publishers to safeguard their code using a code signing certificate.

• Safe and secure customer experience

For the smooth running of any company, trust is required. Vendor and customer trust are important if you want to flourish. Code Signing Certificate brings in this trust by providing a safe and secure experience to the customer.

The customer knows that the code is signed by an authentic company and no tempering has been done with it. They feel safe in using the software and are free from the mind of any malicious attacks. This security when comes from a trusted certificate authority makes things more seamless.

Closing words

The aforementioned information must have made it clear to you why Code Signing Certificates are important to developers and why one should invest their time and money in them. You can mitigate the risk of your software or other executables being tempered by unauthorized access. Also, this encryption process is of no use if the end-user doesn’t listen to the warning bell. The user should know whether the code is secured or not. So, if you are a developer make sure you secure your code and if you are an end-user always download software signed by genuine publishers only.