METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF A DOWNLOADED DATA SET

摘要

The disclosed embodiments provide a system that ensures the integrity of a downloaded data set. During operation, a browser application executing on a computing device receives a data set that was signed using the private key of a host computer. The browser application stores this signed data set in a browser data store. Subsequently, the browser application also receives a public key from the host computer (e.g., while accessing a web page associated with the signed data set). The browser application ensures the integrity of the data set by executing scripted program code that: uses the public key to decode the signature for the data set; calculates a hash value for the signed data set; and compares the decoded signature with the hash value to validate the data set.