Cryptography & Machine Identity Security
Code Signing Solutions That Let You Ship With Confidence
Every release carries your signature. We secure your signing keys in hardware and put clear policy around who can sign. Authorized signing runs inside your pipelines, so developers keep moving.
How Safe Are Your Signing Keys?
One stolen key lets an attacker sign malware in your name.
One Key, Every Release
Every signed release tells customers it came from you. A single private key stands behind the promise.
Anyone Can Sign Anything
Signing keys live on build servers and laptops, not in HSMs. No one sees what gets signed, or by whom.
The Rules Are Tightening
Gaps We Bridge
- Signing keys stored in software on build servers or developer laptops
- No centralized record of who signed which software and with which key
- Code signing certificates renewed by hand or tied to physical tokens
- Separate signing processes for Windows, Java, containers, and firmware
- No plan to move code and firmware signatures to post-quantum algorithms
Trust, Built in Three Steps
A digital signature is your software's proof of origin and its seal against tampering.
Sign the Release
Your private key signs a hash, a digital fingerprint of the file. Change one bit, and the signature fails.
Add a Timestamp
A trusted timestamp proves when you signed, so the signature stays valid after the certificate expires.
Verify on Arrival
The receiving system (an operating system, runtime, container platform, or device bootloader) checks the signature and traces the certificate to a trusted root.
Code signing uses the same public key infrastructure (PKI) technology as website certificates, with its own certificates and rules. It covers apps, drivers, scripts, containers, and firmware.
What We Build Into Every Code Signing Program
Four capabilities we design for, on whichever platform you choose.
HSM-Backed Key Storage
Policy and Approvals
One policy sets who can sign what, with which key, and production keys can require dual approval.
Pipeline Integration
Signing runs in your build pipelines through familiar tools like SignTool, jarsigner, and cosign.
Audit Trail and Renewal
Every key access and signing event is logged, and certificates renew within the 460-day maximum.
Your Pipeline, Your Platform,
Our Expertise
We implement code signing platforms from our certified technology partners and help you choose the right fit.
From Assessment to Automated Signing
We guide every step, from your first key inventory to signing that runs on its own.
1
Assess and Discover
Inventory your keys, certificates, and pipelines, and learn how you release and which rules apply.
2
Scan the Market and Test
Shortlist the platforms that fit, then test them on your builds with demos and proofs of concept.
3
Choose How You Buy
Buy through your existing reseller or through our resale and distribution partners, as you prefer.
4
Implement and Integrate
Install the platform and HSMs, run key ceremonies, connect your pipelines, and train your teams.
1
Assess and Discover
Inventory your keys, certificates, and pipelines, and learn how you release and which rules apply.
2
Scan the Market and Test
Shortlist the platforms that fit, then test them on your builds with demos and proofs of concept.
3
Choose How You Buy
Buy through your existing reseller or through our resale and distribution partners, as you prefer.
4
Implement and Integrate
Install the platform and HSMs, run key ceremonies, connect your pipelines, and train your teams.
Quantum-Safe Signing Starts Now
For national security systems, NSA guidance has preferred quantum-safe signing since 2025 and will require it exclusively by 2030.
Approved options include the Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm (ML-DSA) and the hash-based Leighton-Micali Signature (LMS) and eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme (XMSS).
Beyond national security systems, NIST's IR 8547 deprecates RSA and ECDSA after 2030 and disallows them after 2035.
How We Get You There
Algorithm Map
Every algorithm that signs your software, firmware, and containers, matched to the keys behind it.
Scope the work.
A short scoping call defines objectives, environment, and constraints. A proof of concept can come first if you need one.
Migration Plan
A staged path to quantum-safe signing, with dual signing for older systems that need classical ones.
Firmware Pilot
A trial of quantum-safe signing on firmware first, so problems are discovered before devices ship.
Publicly trusted code signing certificates cannot carry quantum-safe algorithms yet, so early pilots run on private PKI.
Common Questions,
Straight Answers
A code signing solution combines certificates, hardware-protected keys, signing policy, and build-tool integrations, so teams sign at scale without sharing private keys. Accutive Security, a Cryptography, Data Protection and Identity Security Center of Excellence, implements these programs.
Publicly trusted certificates issued on or after March 1, 2026 can be valid for up to 460 days (Section 6.3.2), about 15 months, down from the previous 39 months. Certificates issued earlier keep their original expiration date. Plan renewals around the shorter cycle. Timestamped signatures stay valid after expiry.
Organization Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV) certificates both confirm identity, require hardware keys, and follow the same 460-day maximum validity. EV adds stricter vetting of legal existence and requester authority, and Microsoft’s hardware developer program requires EV to register.
No. A signature shows who published the code and that it hasn’t changed since signing. It cannot show the code is free of malicious content, so controlling what gets signed matters as much as protecting the key. A stolen key lets an attacker sign malware that looks legitimate to every downstream system.
It depends on what you sign, where you build, and where your keys need to live. Accutive Security compares platforms against your requirements and tests shortlisted options on your builds, so fit drives the choice. Our partners include Akeyless, AppViewX, DigiCert, Entrust, Keyfactor, Palo Alto Networks, and Thales.