A Digital Certificate is an electronic 'password' that allows a person or organisation to exchange data securely over the internet using public key infrastructure (PKI). Digital Certificates are also known as a public key certificate or identity certificate. Government Digital Certificates are backed by government and are used to confirm identity in the same way as a passport, driving licence or identity document. Examples of Government Digital Certificates include the Estonian Mobiil-ID scheme. In Norway, there are five authorised digital ID systems which can be used to log into government services. Franceconnect allows the use of digital identies across different platforms. In the UK, the GOV.UK Verify system is supposed to allow banks and financial institutions to confirm someone's identity for checks on credit risk assessments and to meet regulatory requirements.
Government Digital Certificates can also be used to certify individual's position in relation to Government activity, for example, that someone with that identity holds a valid driving licence, or is registered for tax purposes. In the USA, the Government Publishing Office uses digital certification to authenticate government documents issued as PDFs, to enable readers to check that the document certification is valid, that it has not been modified since it was certified, and that the signer’s identity (a US government office) is valid.
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