Do I need a digital certificate?
Not everyone needs a digital certificate. Digital certificates are one option that will enable a number of security tools for certain circumstances. For example, researchers who have human subject information, faculty members with student information, or administrators with sensitive business data may all be good candidates for digital certificates.
These are high-level guidelines and provide only a broad outline of likely users. Consult with your desktop support staff or the Information Security Office if you have questions.
People who need digital certificates
- Have at least one dedicated computer or a dedicated user account on a computer
- Use e-mail for correspondence about sensitive issues
- Want to ensure to recipients that messages are being sent from a legitimate e-mail account
- Store Category-I data on laptops or other portable computing devices
People who do not need digital certificates
- Do not have a dedicated computer or dedicated user account on a computer
- Send non-sensitive information in e-mail
- Store Category-I data on a secure central server and do not have copies on their own machines
