Summary

This chapter introduced digital signatures, which are based on cryptographic hash and asymmetric encryption algorithms. In particular, the RSA and DSA digital signature algorithms were discussed. The mathematical foundations of these two algorithms were briefly reviewed, followed by working program examples showing how to use the DSACryptoServiceProvider and RSACryptoServiceProvider classes. In Chapter 6 we continue the study of digital signatures, but we focus on how XML cryptography is used in combination with digital signatures.