Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

certification of computer professionals 79program for accepting tax returns that are digitally certifiedand signed.Further ReadingAltreya, Mohan, et al. Digital Signatures. Berkeley, Calif.: Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 2002.Brands, Stefan A. Rethinking Public Key Infrastructures and DigitalCertificates. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000.Feghhi, Jalal, and Peter Williams. Digital Certificates: AppliedInternet Security. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1998.Digital certification relies upon public key cryptography and theexistence of a trusted third party, the Certificate Authority (CA).First a business properly identifies itself to the CA and receives adigital certificate. A consumer can obtain a copy of the business’sdigital certificate and use it to obtain the business’s public key fromthe CA. The consumer can now send encrypted information (suchas a credit card number) to the business.cant and then provides the company with a digital certificate,which is actually the company’s public key encryptedtogether with a key used by the CA and a text message.(This is sometimes called a digital signature.) When a userqueries the Web site, the user’s browser uses the CA’s publickey to decrypt the certificate holder’s public key. Thatpublic key is used in turn to decrypt the accompanyingmessage. If the message text matches, this proves that thecertificate is valid (unless the CA’s private key has somehowbeen compromised).The supporting technology for digital certification isincluded in a standard called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL),which is a protocol for sending encrypted data across theInternet. SSL is supported by leading browsers such asMicrosoft Internet Explorer and Netscape. As a result, digitalcertification is usually transparent to the user, unlessthe user is notified that a certificate cannot be verified.Digital certificates are often attached to software such asbrowser plug-ins so the user can verify before installationthat the software actually originates with its manufacturerand has not been tampered with (such as by introduction ofa virus).The use of digital certification is expanding. For example,VeriSign and the federal General Services Administration(GSA) have begun an initiative called ACES (AccessCertificates for Electronic Services) that will allow citizensa secure means to send information (such as loan applications)and to view benefits records. The IRS has a pilotcertification of computer professionalsUnlike medicine, the law, or even civil engineering, thecomputer-related fields do not have legally required certification.Given society’s critical dependence on computersoftware and hardware for areas such as infrastructuremanagement and medical applications, there have beenpersistent attempts to require certification or licensing ofsoftware engineers. However, the fluid nature of the informationscience field would make it difficult to decide whichapplication areas should have entry restrictions.At present, a variety of academic degrees, professionalaffiliations, and industry certificates may be considered inevaluating a candidate for a position in the computing field.Academic and Professional CredentialsThe field of computer science has the usual levels of academiccredentials (baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoraldegrees), and these are often considered prerequisites foran academic position or for industry positions that involveresearch or development in areas such as robotics or artificialintelligence. For business-oriented IT positions, abachelor’s degree in computer science or information systemsmay be required or preferred, and candidates whoalso have a business-oriented degree (such as an MBA) maybe in a stronger position. However, degrees are generallyviewed only as a minimum qualification (or “filter”) beforeevaluating experience in the specific application or platformin question. While not a certification, membership in themajor professional organizations such as the Associationfor Computing Machinery (ACM) and Institute for Electricaland Electronic Engineers (IEEE) can be viewed as partof professional status. Through special interest groups andforums, these organizations provide computer professionalswith a good way to track emerging technical developmentsor to broaden their knowledge.In the early years of computing and again, in the microcomputerindustry of the 1980s, programming experienceand ability were valued more highly than academic credentials.(Bill Gates, for example, had no formal college trainingin computer science.) In general, degree or certificationrequirements tend to be imposed as a sector of the informationindustry becomes well defined and established in thecorporate world. For example, as local area networks cameinto widespread use in the 1980s, certifications were developedby Microsoft, Novell, and others. In turn, collegesand trade schools can train technicians, using the certificateexaminations to establish a curriculum, and numerousbooks and packaged training courses have been marketed.