ARCHIVED: Use an S/MIME client certificate to secure your email messages with a digital signature

This content has been archived, and is no longer maintained by Indiana University. Information here may no longer be accurate, and links may no longer be available or reliable.

To view all the content available to you here, use the green Log in button at the top of this page to log into the Knowledge Base.

Note:

Due to enhanced security features in Exchange Online, digital signatures are no longer required at IU; however, digital signatures will continue to work as expected if you wish to continue using them.

A digital signature is a unique digital mark that verifies that an email message originated from the signer and that it has not been altered. It ensures that a message you're reading has not been changed since it was digitally signed, and that the message was not "spoofed" (sent by an impostor). At Indiana University, the primary means of digitally signing email is to use an S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) client certificate.

To use an S/MIME client certificate to digitally sign your email at IU, you need to:

ARCHIVED: Get an S/MIME client certificate
Install your certificate, using the instructions for your email client:
Renew your client certificate when it expires

S/MIME client certificates also can be used to send and receive encrypted messages within the IU Exchange system. For more, see ARCHIVED: About email encryption using S/MIME client certificates at IU.

For more about digital signatures, see Microsoft's Digital signatures and certificates.

Note:

Although Outlook verifies that the client certificate used to digitally sign a message is valid, it does not check to make sure that the "From" address matches the address in the client certificate. You should remain vigilant in recognizing the warning signs of phishing scams.

If you need help, contact your IT Pro or your campus Support Center.