How can digital documents be verified for authenticity during an inspection?

How can digital documents be verified for authenticity during an inspection?

• A. All of the above
• B. Check metadata
• C. Hashes
• D. Signatures

Answer: (A)

Authenticating digital documents relies on confirming origin and content integrity using multiple techniques. During an inspection you want to ensure that the document came from the claimed source and that it has not been altered since issuance. Metadata offers provenance clues such as who created the file, when, and via what device, which helps establish trust but can be manipulated, so it’s not relied on alone. A hash provides a fingerprint of the exact content; recomputing the hash and comparing it with a trusted reference tells you whether the content changed. Digital signatures bind the document to the signer’s identity and provide non-repudiation; verifying the signature against the signer’s public key or certificate chain confirms both origin and integrity. Because each method covers a different angle, combining them gives the strongest verification. In practice you’d check the metadata for consistency with the claimed source, recalculate the hash and compare with the known good value, and verify the digital signature using the issuer’s certificate.

Authenticating digital documents relies on confirming origin and content integrity using multiple techniques. During an inspection you want to ensure that the document came from the claimed source and that it has not been altered since issuance. Metadata offers provenance clues such as who created the file, when, and via what device, which helps establish trust but can be manipulated, so it’s not relied on alone. A hash provides a fingerprint of the exact content; recomputing the hash and comparing it with a trusted reference tells you whether the content changed. Digital signatures bind the document to the signer’s identity and provide non-repudiation; verifying the signature against the signer’s public key or certificate chain confirms both origin and integrity. Because each method covers a different angle, combining them gives the strongest verification. In practice you’d check the metadata for consistency with the claimed source, recalculate the hash and compare with the known good value, and verify the digital signature using the issuer’s certificate.