HP Dc7100 HP ProtectTools Embedded Security Guide - Page 10

HP ProtectTools Embedded Security Digital Signature A digital signature displays the name of the CA issuing the digital certificate. It is used to: ■ verify the identity of the sender of a digital document. ■ certify that the contents were not modified after the sender digitally signed the document. For more information on digital signatures, refer to the operating system online Help. Public Key and Private Key Asymmetric cryptography, which is a method used by Embedded Security to encrypt information, requires the use of 2 keys, a public key and a private key. A public key can be freely distributed to many users, whereas a private key is held by only one user. For example, to send encrypted email, User A would use the public key (freely available) from User B to encrypt the contents of the email sent to User B. Since User B has sole possession of his private key, he is the only one that can decrypt the contents of the email sent from User A. Public key-enabled technology allows you to transmit private information over public networks, use digital signatures to ensure the authenticity of your email, and provides authentication between a server and a client. Emergency Recovery The Emergency Recovery Archive, created by the administrator during Embedded Security setup, is a file that stores sensitive information about the computer, its users, and the private keys used to protect encrypted or private data. In the case of a system failure, this sensitive information is required to restore access to protected data. An Emergency Recovery Token, also created by the administrator during Embedded Security setup, is a file that stores the keys used to protect the data in the Emergency Recovery Archive. The token is 6 www.hp.com HP ProtectTools Embedded Security Guide