WHAT IS RSA?

Invented by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman in 1977, RSA is an algorithm for public-key cryptography. RSA works on the basis of a public and private key.

Your public key is used to encrypt data before it's sent to the server on which the certificate is located. Every internet user attempting to connect with the site is sent the public key. The private key, generated along with the CSR, is used to decrypt the data encrypted by the public key. No one should have access to your private key - your SSL security depends on it.

WHAT IS DSA?

Digital Signature Algorithm, or DSA, uses a different algorithm for signing and encryption to RSA, yet provides the same level of security. It was proposed in 1991 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and adopted by the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) in 1993. Since then it has gone under four revisions.

A DSA certificate makes it easier to keep up with government standards as it's endorsed by federal agencies - including the impending move to 2048-bit key lengths. You can even run RSA and DSA simultaneously to enhance your security further. Apache servers, for example, can run RSA and DSA certificates simultaneously on just one web server. This will benefit businesses seeking to maximise their ecosystem reach for their business correspondence.

Just for a comparison: 256-bit ECC key equates to the same security as 3,072-bit RSA key.

The shorter key lengths require less computing power, meaning faster, secure connections to the likes of smart phones and tablets on-the-go. Plus, despite being new, Symantec's ECC roots have been in place for over 5 years, so your ECC certificate will work throughout your ecosystem. Again, ECC is FIPS-certified, like DSA, and endorsed by the National Security Agency.

For more information, you can download the ECC fact sheet created by our partner Symantec.

Norton seals are viewed more than half a billion times a day on more than 100,000 websites in 170 countries and in search results on enabled browsers, as well as partner shopping sites and product review pages. When website visitors see the Norton Trust Seal, they are less likely to abandon a transaction and more likely to do business with you online.