I want to digitally sign data

We recommend the Digital Signature primitive with ECDSA_P256 key type for most use cases.

The Digital Signature primitive ensures that no one has tampered with your data and proves that the data came from you. It is asymmetric, using the private key to sign the data and the public key verify it.

The following examples get you started using the Digital Signature primitive:

C++GoJavaObj-CPython

// A utility for signing and verifying files using digital signatures.
#include <iostream>
#include <memory>
#include <ostream>
#include <string>

#include "absl/flags/flag.h"
#include "absl/flags/parse.h"
#include "absl/log/check.h"
#include "absl/strings/string_view.h"
#include "tink/config/global_registry.h"
#include "util/util.h"
#include "tink/keyset_handle.h"
#include "tink/public_key_sign.h"
#include "tink/public_key_verify.h"
#include "tink/signature/signature_config.h"
#include "tink/util/status.h"

ABSL_FLAG(std::string, keyset_filename, "", "Keyset file in JSON format");
ABSL_FLAG(std::string, mode, "", "Mode of operation (sign|verify)");
ABSL_FLAG(std::string, input_filename, "", "Filename to operate on");
ABSL_FLAG(std::string, signature_filename, "", "Path to the signature file");

namespace {

using ::crypto::tink::KeysetHandle;
using ::crypto::tink::PublicKeySign;
using ::crypto::tink::PublicKeyVerify;
using ::crypto::tink::util::Status;
using ::crypto::tink::util::StatusOr;

constexpr absl::string_view kSign = "sign";
constexpr absl::string_view kVerify = "verify";

void ValidateParams() {
  // ...
}

}  // namespace

namespace tink_cc_examples {

// Digital signature example CLI implementation.
Status DigitalSignatureCli(absl::string_view mode,
                           const std::string& keyset_filename,
                           const std::string& input_filename,
                           const std::string& signature_filename) {
  Status result = crypto::tink::SignatureConfig::Register();
  if (!result.ok()) return result;

  // Read the keyset from file.
  StatusOr<std::unique_ptr<KeysetHandle>> keyset_handle =
      ReadJsonCleartextKeyset(keyset_filename);
  if (!keyset_handle.ok()) return keyset_handle.status();

  // Read the input.
  StatusOr<std::string> input_file_content = ReadFile(input_filename);
  if (!input_file_content.ok()) return input_file_content.status();

  if (mode == kSign) {
    StatusOr<std::unique_ptr<PublicKeySign>> public_key_sign =
        (*keyset_handle)
            ->GetPrimitive<crypto::tink::PublicKeySign>(
                crypto::tink::ConfigGlobalRegistry());
    if (!public_key_sign.ok()) return public_key_sign.status();

    StatusOr<std::string> signature =
        (*public_key_sign)->Sign(*input_file_content);
    if (!signature.ok()) return signature.status();

    return WriteToFile(*signature, signature_filename);
  } else {  // mode == kVerify
    StatusOr<std::unique_ptr<PublicKeyVerify>> public_key_verify =
        (*keyset_handle)
            ->GetPrimitive<crypto::tink::PublicKeyVerify>(
                crypto::tink::ConfigGlobalRegistry());
    if (!public_key_verify.ok()) return public_key_verify.status();

    // Read the signature.
    StatusOr<std::string> signature_file_content = ReadFile(signature_filename);
    if (!signature_file_content.ok()) return signature_file_content.status();

    return (*public_key_verify)
        ->Verify(*signature_file_content, *input_file_content);
  }
}

}  // namespace tink_cc_examples

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
  absl::ParseCommandLine(argc, argv);

  ValidateParams();

  std::string mode = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_mode);
  std::string keyset_filename = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_keyset_filename);
  std::string input_filename = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_input_filename);
  std::string signature_filename = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_signature_filename);

  std::clog << "Using keyset in " << keyset_filename << " to " << mode;
  if (mode == kSign) {
    std::clog << " file " << input_filename
              << "; the resulting signature is written to "
              << signature_filename << '\n';
  } else {  // mode == kVerify
    std::clog << " the signature in " << signature_filename
              << " over the content of " << input_filename << '\n';
  }

  CHECK_OK(tink_cc_examples::DigitalSignatureCli(
      mode, keyset_filename, input_filename, signature_filename));
  return 0;
}
digital_signatures_cli.cc

import (
	"bytes"
	"fmt"
	"log"

	"github.com/tink-crypto/tink-go/v2/insecurecleartextkeyset"
	"github.com/tink-crypto/tink-go/v2/keyset"
	"github.com/tink-crypto/tink-go/v2/signature"
)

func Example() {
	// A private keyset created with
	// "tinkey create-keyset --key-template=ECDSA_P256 --out private_keyset.cfg".
	// Note that this keyset has the secret key information in cleartext.
	privateJSONKeyset := `{
		"key": [{
			"keyData": {
					"keyMaterialType":
							"ASYMMETRIC_PRIVATE",
					"typeUrl":
							"type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.EcdsaPrivateKey",
					"value":
							"EkwSBggDEAIYAhogEiSZ9u2nDtvZuDgWgGsVTIZ5/V08N4ycUspTX0RYRrkiIHpEwHxQd1bImkyMvV2bqtUbgMh5uPSTdnUEGrPXdt56GiEA3iUi+CRN71qy0fOCK66xAW/IvFyjOGtxjppRhSFUneo="
			},
			"keyId": 611814836,
			"outputPrefixType": "TINK",
			"status": "ENABLED"
		}],
		"primaryKeyId": 611814836
	}`

	// The corresponding public keyset created with
	// "tinkey create-public-keyset --in private_keyset.cfg"
	publicJSONKeyset := `{
      "key": [{
          "keyData": {
              "keyMaterialType":
                  "ASYMMETRIC_PUBLIC",
              "typeUrl":
                  "type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.EcdsaPublicKey",
              "value":
                  "EgYIAxACGAIaIBIkmfbtpw7b2bg4FoBrFUyGef1dPDeMnFLKU19EWEa5IiB6RMB8UHdWyJpMjL1dm6rVG4DIebj0k3Z1BBqz13beeg=="
          },
          "keyId": 611814836,
          "outputPrefixType": "TINK",
          "status": "ENABLED"
      }],
      "primaryKeyId": 611814836
  }`

	// Create a keyset handle from the cleartext private keyset in the previous
	// step. The keyset handle provides abstract access to the underlying keyset to
	// limit the access of the raw key material. WARNING: In practice,
	// it is unlikely you will want to use a insecurecleartextkeyset, as it implies
	// that your key material is passed in cleartext, which is a security risk.
	// Consider encrypting it with a remote key in Cloud KMS, AWS KMS or HashiCorp Vault.
	// See https://github.com/google/tink/blob/master/docs/GOLANG-HOWTO.md#storing-and-loading-existing-keysets.
	privateKeysetHandle, err := insecurecleartextkeyset.Read(
		keyset.NewJSONReader(bytes.NewBufferString(privateJSONKeyset)))
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	// Retrieve the Signer primitive from privateKeysetHandle.
	signer, err := signature.NewSigner(privateKeysetHandle)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	// Use the primitive to sign a message. In this case, the primary key of the
	// keyset will be used (which is also the only key in this example).
	data := []byte("data")
	sig, err := signer.Sign(data)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	// Create a keyset handle from the keyset containing the public key. Because the
	// public keyset does not contain any secrets, we can use [keyset.ReadWithNoSecrets].
	publicKeysetHandle, err := keyset.ReadWithNoSecrets(
		keyset.NewJSONReader(bytes.NewBufferString(publicJSONKeyset)))
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	// Retrieve the Verifier primitive from publicKeysetHandle.
	verifier, err := signature.NewVerifier(publicKeysetHandle)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	if err = verifier.Verify(sig, data); err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	fmt.Printf("sig is valid")
	// Output: sig is valid
}
signature_test.go

package signature;

import static java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8;

import com.google.crypto.tink.InsecureSecretKeyAccess;
import com.google.crypto.tink.KeysetHandle;
import com.google.crypto.tink.PublicKeySign;
import com.google.crypto.tink.PublicKeyVerify;
import com.google.crypto.tink.RegistryConfiguration;
import com.google.crypto.tink.TinkJsonProtoKeysetFormat;
import com.google.crypto.tink.signature.SignatureConfig;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

/**
 * A command-line utility for digitally signing and verifying a file.
 *
 * <p>It loads cleartext keys from disk - this is not recommended!
 *
 * <p>It requires the following arguments:
 *
 * <ul>
 *   <li>mode: either 'sign' or 'verify'.
 *   <li>key-file: Read the key material from this file.
 *   <li>input-file: Read the input from this file.
 *   <li>signature-file: name of the file containing a hexadecimal signature of the input file.
 */
public final class SignatureExample {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    if (args.length != 4) {
      System.err.printf("Expected 4 parameters, got %d\n", args.length);
      System.err.println(
          "Usage: java SignatureExample sign/verify key-file input-file signature-file");
      System.exit(1);
    }

    String mode = args[0];
    if (!mode.equals("sign") && !mode.equals("verify")) {
      System.err.println("Incorrect mode. Please select sign or verify.");
      System.exit(1);
    }
    Path keyFile = Paths.get(args[1]);
    byte[] msg = Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get(args[2]));
    Path signatureFile = Paths.get(args[3]);

    // Register all signature key types with the Tink runtime.
    SignatureConfig.register();

    // Read the keyset into a KeysetHandle.
    KeysetHandle handle =
        TinkJsonProtoKeysetFormat.parseKeyset(
            new String(Files.readAllBytes(keyFile), UTF_8), InsecureSecretKeyAccess.get());

    if (mode.equals("sign")) {
      // Get the primitive.
      PublicKeySign signer = handle.getPrimitive(RegistryConfiguration.get(), PublicKeySign.class);

      // Use the primitive to sign data.
      byte[] signature = signer.sign(msg);
      Files.write(signatureFile, signature);
    } else {
      byte[] signature = Files.readAllBytes(signatureFile);

      // Get the primitive.
      PublicKeyVerify verifier =
          handle.getPrimitive(RegistryConfiguration.get(), PublicKeyVerify.class);

      verifier.verify(signature, msg);
    }
  }

  private SignatureExample() {}
}
SignatureExample.java

HOW-TO

import tink
from tink import secret_key_access
from tink import signature


def example():
  """Sign and verify using digital signatures."""
  # Register the signature key managers. This is needed to create
  # PublicKeySign and PublicKeyVerify primitives later.
  signature.register()

  # A private keyset created with
  # "tinkey create-keyset --key-template=ECDSA_P256 --out private_keyset.cfg".
  # Note that this keyset has the secret key information in cleartext.
  private_keyset = r"""{
      "key": [{
          "keyData": {
              "keyMaterialType":
                  "ASYMMETRIC_PRIVATE",
              "typeUrl":
                  "type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.EcdsaPrivateKey",
              "value":
                  "EkwSBggDEAIYAhogEiSZ9u2nDtvZuDgWgGsVTIZ5/V08N4ycUspTX0RYRrkiIHpEwHxQd1bImkyMvV2bqtUbgMh5uPSTdnUEGrPXdt56GiEA3iUi+CRN71qy0fOCK66xAW/IvFyjOGtxjppRhSFUneo="
          },
          "keyId": 611814836,
          "outputPrefixType": "TINK",
          "status": "ENABLED"
      }],
      "primaryKeyId": 611814836
  }"""

  # The corresponding public keyset created with
  # "tinkey create-public-keyset --in private_keyset.cfg"
  public_keyset = r"""{
      "key": [{
          "keyData": {
              "keyMaterialType":
                  "ASYMMETRIC_PUBLIC",
              "typeUrl":
                  "type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.EcdsaPublicKey",
              "value":
                  "EgYIAxACGAIaIBIkmfbtpw7b2bg4FoBrFUyGef1dPDeMnFLKU19EWEa5IiB6RMB8UHdWyJpMjL1dm6rVG4DIebj0k3Z1BBqz13beeg=="
          },
          "keyId": 611814836,
          "outputPrefixType": "TINK",
          "status": "ENABLED"
      }],
      "primaryKeyId": 611814836
  }"""

  # Create a keyset handle from the cleartext keyset in the previous
  # step. The keyset handle provides abstract access to the underlying keyset to
  # limit the exposure of accessing the raw key material. WARNING: In practice,
  # it is unlikely you will want to use tink.json_proto_keyset_format.parse, as
  # it implies that your key material is passed in cleartext which is a security
  # risk.
  private_keyset_handle = tink.json_proto_keyset_format.parse(
      private_keyset, secret_key_access.TOKEN
  )

  # Retrieve the PublicKeySign primitive we want to use from the keyset
  # handle.
  sign_primitive = private_keyset_handle.primitive(signature.PublicKeySign)

  # Use the primitive to sign a message. In this case the primary key of the
  # keyset will be used (which is also the only key in this example).
  sig = sign_primitive.sign(b'msg')

  # Create a keyset handle from the keyset containing the public key. Because
  # this keyset does not contain any secrets, we can use
  # `parse_without_secret`.
  public_keyset_handle = tink.json_proto_keyset_format.parse_without_secret(
      public_keyset
  )

  # Retrieve the PublicKeyVerify primitive we want to use from the keyset
  # handle.
  verify_primitive = public_keyset_handle.primitive(signature.PublicKeyVerify)

  # Use the primitive to verify that `sig` is valid signature for the message.
  # Verify finds the correct key in the keyset. If no key is found or
  # verification fails, it raises an error.
  verify_primitive.verify(sig, b'msg')

  # Note that we can also get the public keyset handle from the private keyset
  # handle. The verification works the same as above.
  public_keyset_handle2 = private_keyset_handle.public_keyset_handle()
  verify_primitive2 = public_keyset_handle2.primitive(signature.PublicKeyVerify)
  verify_primitive2.verify(sig, b'msg')
signature_basic.py

Digital Signature

The Digital Signature primitive lets you verify that no one has tampered with your data. It provides authenticity and integrity, but not secrecy, of the signed data. It is asymmetric, meaning it uses a pair of keys (public key and private key).

The Digital Signature primitive has the following properties:

• Authenticity: It is impossible to create a signature for which PublicKeyVerify.Verify(signature, message) validates, unless you have the private key.
• Asymmetric: Creating the signature uses a different key than verifying it. This lets you distribute the public key to verify signatures to parties that can't create signatures themselves.

If you don't need asymmetry, consider using the simpler and more efficient MAC primitive instead.

The functionality of digital signatures is represented in Tink as a pair of primitives:

• PublicKeySign for signing data
• PublicKeyVerify for verifying the signature

Choose a key type

We recommend using ECDSA_P256 for most use cases, but there are a variety of options. In general, the following holds true:

• ECDSA_P256 is the most widely used option and a reasonable default. Note though that ECDSA signatures are malleable.
• ED25519 creates deterministic signatures and provides better performance than ECDSA_P256.
• RSA_SSA_PKCS1_3072_SHA256_F4 creates deterministic signatures and provides the best verification performance (but signing is much slower than ECDSA_P256 or ED25519).

Minimal security guarantees

• Data to be signed can have arbitrary length
• 128-bit security level against adaptive chosen-message attacks for elliptic curve based schemes
• 112-bit security level against adaptive chosen-message attacks for RSA based schemes (allows 2048-bit keys)

Malleability

A signature scheme is malleable if an attacker can create a different valid signature for an already signed message. While this is not a problem for most scenarios, in some cases programmers implicitly assume that valid signatures are unique, and this can lead to unexpected results.