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Anna Shipman
Anna Shipman

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What is the 3072-Bit key Length? Impact of 3072-Bit Length on Code Signing Certificate

As data is becoming a critical asset and data breach incidents are increasing, the software is becoming a primary factor for both. And for securing it, Code Signing Certificate is a primary component software publishers use.

Developers have recently been utilizing certificates with a 2048-bit key length. But, in 2021, a new policy was enacted, directing CAs to issue Code Signing Certificates with a 3072-Bit Key Length. The primary aim of defining such a standard was to strengthen security. Moreover, there are many other aspects that a developer or security enthusiast must understand about such change. So, let’s have a look.

What is the 3072-Bit key Length?

Whenever a software developer utilizes a Code Signing Certificate, a pair of private and public keys comes into action. Both keys operate in correspondence and provide encryption and decryption functionality, respectively. And it has different key lengths, such as 1024-bit, 2048-bit, 3072-bit, and 4096-bit.

The bits represent the length of a key, helping the publishers to determine certificate security: the more bits, the less the chance of facing a cyber-attack. With a more significant number of bits, you can create additional unique alpha-numeric combinations, preventing the hacker from breaching and reading source code.

Currently, cyber-attacks increased, due to which NIST defines the guidelines for user 3072-bit encryption standard. Moreover, from the June of 2021, it has been made mandatory for every CA to issue Code Signing Certificate if its CSR is in a 3072-bit encrypted format. There are several reasons behind imposing such regulations. So, let’s take a look at them.

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