About the types of DSC

As an applicant, before you proceed towards dsc registration, it is important to know about the types of DSCs. The Certifying Authority issues DSCs that fall into the following three categories:

Class-1 certificate: Once the applicant fills the digital signature certificate subscription form and completes the required procedures, the authority issues Class-1 certificate for both business personnel and private individuals. The information such as name and e-mail address, reflected in these certificates confirms that the application given by the subscriber matches with the information in authentic consumer databases.

Class-2 certificate: This class of DSC is issued for business personnel and private individuals and confirms that the information given is authentic which does not conflict with those given in other consumer databases. The Class-2 certificate becomes useful in a set-up where risks and consequences of data compromise are moderate. That is, where transactions have substantial monetary value or risk of fraud, or when the likelihood of malicious access is substantial.

Class-3 certificate: The DSCs belonging to class-3 are considered as high assurance certificates and are majorly intended for e-commerce applications. Such applications are issued only after the subscriber physically appears before the authority, thereby safeguarding against any fraud. The certificate will be issued to individuals as well as organizations. These certificates can be downloaded in an HSM, that is, a hardware security module.