The certificate authority also provides the agency with a copy of the individual s new or existing certificate. The user s digital certificate can then allow access to the secure site so that the user can submit the required information. If the user s computer already contains a digital certificate, the certificate authority authenticates the existing certificate and grants the user access to the secure Web site. ACES policy dictates that a Federal agency cannot accept a digital signature as valid until the digital certificate of the person submitting the report has been authenticated. Unlike the registration process, which occurs only once, authentication is performed each time a submission is sent.
Authentication requires several steps.
First, the user s digital certificate links the user s public key to the report as it is being submitted. The CAM submits a validation request to the issuing certificate authority over the Internet. The certificate authority looks in the digital certificate of the user submitting the report to see if the public key matches the key linked to the submission. If the public keys match, the certificate authority responds with a yes using an Internet interface. The Agency can then accept the electronic data as legitimate.