Operation Manual

240
USING ACROBAT X STANDARD
Digital signatures
Last updated 10/11/2011
Import and export a certificate
To import a certificate for use in signature validation and certificate security workflows:
1 Do one of the following:
• In Acrobat, choose Tools > Sign & Certify > More Sign & Certify > Manage Trusted Identities.
• In Reader, choose Edit > Protection > Manage Trusted Identities.
Note: If you don't see the Sign & Certify or Protection panel, see the instructions for adding panels at “Task panes” on
page 8
2 In the Display menu, select Contacts, and then click Add Contacts.
3 Do any of the following:
• If Windows certificate digital IDs are allowed, select the appropriate directory and group.
• If your organization has configured an identity search directory, click Search to locate certificates.
• Click Browse, select the certificate file, and click Open.
4 Select the added certificate in the Contacts list to add it to the Certificates list. Select the certificate in the Certificates
list, and click Details.
5 If the certificate is self-signed, contact the originator of the certificate to confirm that the fingerprint values on the
Details tab are correct. Trust the certificate only if the values match the values of the originator.
6 Click Trust, specify trust options, and click OK.
You can export a certificate and contact data via e-mail directly from the Trusted Identity Manager. This allows other
users to add that data to their trusted identity list. Contact data added in this manner helps expand the number of users
that can participate in secure document workflows. See the Digital Signature Guide (PDF) at
www.adobe.com/go/learn_acr_security_en for information on exporting certificates.
Setting certificate trust
You build a list of trusted identities by getting digital ID certificates from signing participants and certificate security
workflows. You get this information from a server, file, or a signed document. For signing workflows, you can get this
information during the signature validation process. For certificate security workflows involving encryption, request
the information in advance. This enables you to encrypt the document with the document recipient’s public key. See
the Digital Signature Guide (PDF) at
www.adobe.com/go/learn_acr_security_en for more information on setting up
certificate trust.
Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL)
The Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL) allows users to create digital signatures that are trusted whenever the signed
document is opened in Acrobat 9 or Reader 9 and later. Both Acrobat and Reader access an Adobe hosted web page to
download a list of trusted root digital certificates every 30 days. Any digital signature created with a credential that can
trace a relationship back to a certificate on this list is trusted. The trusted root certificates have been verified by Adobe
and other authorities to meet specific technical requirements. They represent high assurance identity and signing
credentials. The certificates include government and citizen credentials from across the world. In addition, they
include credentials from global commercial certificate authorities and qualified certification service providers (CSPs)
in Europe.
For details about this feature and why it is important for validating a signature, see the AATL web page at
www.adobe.com/security/approved-trust-list.html.