Method and system for linking certificates to signed files

A method for processing a file having an existing filename, said method comprising:

• receiving, from a certification authority (CA) who issued a digital certificate, a private key associated with the digital certificate and a certificate address from which the digital certificate may be accessed;
• generating a digital signature based on the file and the received private key, said digital certificate comprising a public key associated with the private key such that the generated digital signature can be verified through use of the public key;
• signing the file with the generated digital signature;
• encoding the received certificate address to generate an encoded address;
• merging the existing filename and the encoded address to generate a new filename;
• and
• renaming the file with the new filename.

A method for authenticating a file having a filename that comprises an encoded address, said file comprising a digital signature that was generated based on the file and a private key, said method comprising:

• extracting the encoded address from the filename;
• decoding the extracted encoded address to generate a certificate address from which a digital certificate may be accessed, said digital certificate comprising a public key associated with the private key, said digital signature being verifiable through use of the public key;
• accessing the digital certificate from the generated certificate address,
• extracting the public key from the accessed digital certificate;
• and
• verifying the digital signature by executing an authentication algorithm in conjunction with the extracted public key.