For this assigment, complete some basic research on the trust infrastructure of the internet. This research should include Digital Signatures, Certify Authorities, Public Key Infrastructure, RSA, and the laws that support these entities. Be sure to include the following relationships:

1) The differences between digital signatures and electronic signatures.

2) Identify a digital signature and how it might be better than a holographic signature (good old pen on paper).

3) Describe Certifying Authorities, identifying who they are and the whole PKI (Public Key Infrastructure).

4) Describe some of the laws that make this technology legally binding.

5) Discuss some of the math behind RSA/Public Key Cryptography.

In researching this topic, I hope that you can provide a clear explanation of how all this works to provide security, authentication, and non-repudiation in the online environment. This topic becomes more and more relevant every day as we do more and more business and live more and more of our lives online.

Please cite two or more authoritative sources. Government sources are a good source for the legal aspects of trust on the Internet. Reputable vendors (the companies that operate some of these services) often have good resources on how these entities work. Finally, research and industry standards organizations are also excellent sources.