What is the full form of DSC

DSC: Digital Signature Certificate

DSC stands for Digital Signature Certificate. It is the digital equivalent of a physical or a paper document. For example, driving licence, passport, and membership cards. This certificate acts as proof of identity of an individual for a specific purpose; e.g., a driving licence identifies a person who can legally drive a vehicle in a particular country specified in the licence. Furthermore, a digital signature can be presented electronically to prove one's identity, access information on the internet, and sign a document digitally.

A digital signature certificate contains information about the user's name, pin code, country, email address, date of issuance, the expiry date of the certificate, and the name of the issuing authority. It is a secure digital key which is issued by the certifying authorities to validate and certify the identity of a person holding this certificate. Digital signatures are created by using public-key encryption.

Benefits of a digital signature certificate:

• Authentication: It can be used to authenticate the personal information and details of a person while doing business online.
• Reduced cost and time: You can digitally sign a PDF file and send it to the receiver quickly instead of signing a hard copy of a document and scanning it to send by email. Furthermore, the digital signature certificate holder is not required to present physically to authorize a business.
• Data integrity: The digitally signed documents cannot be altered or edited, so the data remains safe and secure.

Types/Classes of DSC:

Digital Signature Certificates are issued by a licenced Certifying Authority (CA) that has the licence to issue a digital signature certificate under section 24 of the Indian IT Act 2000. Depending on the purpose or need for which DSC is required, it can be of the following three types:

Class 1 Certificate: This certificate confirms that the information in the application provided by the subscriber matches the information stored in the consumer database. For example, when you log in to your social media account, your id and password are verified if they match, you can log in.

Class 2 Certificate: This certificate also verifies a person against a trusted, pre-verified database. This certificate is relevant to situations where the risks and consequences of data compromise are moderate, for example, during transactions that may have substantial monetary value or risk of fraud or include access to private information. The type of certificate is generally issued to the director and signatory authorities of a company or an organization. It is mandatory when you need to sign manual documents while filing of return with the ROC.

Class 3 Certificate: This is the highest-level certificate, and to get it, the person needs to present himself in front of a Registration Authority (RA) and prove his/her identity only then it is issued. These certificates are used in online participation/bidding in e-auctions, online tenders, etc. So, the vendors who participate in online tenders must have a Class 3 certificate. These are required where the consequences of the failure of security services are high.

How does one receive DSC from the certifying authority?

• Certificate for a digital signature (DSC) In this situation, self-attested copies of the original supporting papers may be presented to Certifying Authorities (CAs) directly by the applicant.
• DSCs can also be obtained via Aadhar eKYC-based authentication wherever provided by CA; accompanying papers are not necessary for this situation.
• A letter or certificate from a bank that includes the applicant's data as it is stored in the bank's database is acceptable. The bank manager should certify this letter or certificate.

Who issues the certificate for digital signatures?

Digital signatures are produced by authorised Certifying Authorities (CAs). A person who has been given permission to issue a digital signature certificate under Section 24 of the Indian IT Act 2000 is referred to as a certifying authority (CA). The MCA portal contains a list of all licenced CAs as well as their contact details.

What should I do if the Digital Signature of the ROC on the Certificate reads "validity unknown" with a question mark?

Please follow the instructions below:

1. On the FO site, download the Certificate matching the authorised SRN.
2. Open the certificate and check the validity of the signature; if the DSC is indicated as "?" then the same has to be confirmed.
3. Choose "Display Signature Attributes" from the menu when you right-click on the signature.
4. Choose "Display Certificate" from the menu.
5. Choose the "Trust" tab from a row of six tabs.
6. Click the "Add to Trusted Identities" option.
7. After selecting the "Add to Trusted Identities" option, an Acrobat security dialogue box will now display; click "ok" to continue.
8. Choose each check box under the Trust Tab as indicated below. Press the "Ok" button.
9. After selecting the "Validate Signature" option, the points shown under the Summary tab will turn green and display a warning.
10. Close the properties for the signature.
11. When the signature has been verified, the "?" mark on the certificate's DSC will change to a green checkmark. If the signature is invalid, the user must file a ticket in order to obtain a valid signature.

After connecting the DSC, the size of the e-form dramatically increases. What steps should be taken to reduce the size of the PDF file?

To prevent the PDF file size from growing too large while attaching the digital signature certificate, kindly adhere to the instructions below (DSC).

Step 1. Click any PDF file to open it, then select "Right Click."

Step 2. Choose Edit > Preferences. It opens the Preferences window.

Step 3. Choose Signature as the Category. It shows the Digital Signatures section.

Step 4. Under the Creativity & Appearance area, click the "More" option.

Step 5. Deselect the "Include revocation status of the signature" checkbox.

Note: Each client desktop's modification in preference settings is unique.