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The error “Your Digital ID name cannot be found by the underlying security system” occurs because of a certificate issue that occurs in Outlook when a user is unable to open or send an S/MIME encrypted email. It can either happen because of an outdated certificate or a certificate that has wrong public key on sender’s side. This error rarely ever happens because of a faulty network connection or corruption in PST file. Explaining this further, we’ll talk about the potential reasons and the best ways to fix this error quickly.
What is a Digital ID in Outlook?
A Digital ID in Outlook is like a digital certificate that authenticates your identity when you send an email to someone. This digital ID is commonly used to encrypt confidential emails or digitally sign the emails to confirm that these emails haven’t been altered or changed. Outlook uses this Digital ID and the private key associated with it to verify the user’s identity. If this ID is missing or expired, Outlook shows the “Your Digital ID name cannot be found” error.
Why Does Outlook Display the “Your Digital ID name cannot be found” Error?
The mismatch with the Digital ID and the user’s encrypted email usually happens for these common reasons:
- Certificate is missing or expired: If your digital ID certificate has expired or is missing, Outlook won’t be able to verify the email against anything.
- Mismatch with the encryption standards: If the recipient uses a modern encryption standard like the AES-256 and the sender still has a certificate that supports an older encryption standard like 3DES, Outlook might fail to recognize the certificate and open the email.
- Public key is incorrect: If someone wants to send you an encrypted email, they’ll need your public key for that and only your certificate’s private key can unlock it. If the sender has an incorrect or outdated public key, then Outlook won’t be able to open the encrypted email.
- Private key is missing: If your Digital ID certificate doesn’t have a valid private key, it won’t be able to decrypt the email content.
How to Fix “Your Digital ID name cannot be found” Error?
Try these fixes in the given order to check if your issue gets resolved or not. Read about each fix to see which one corresponds to your situation the most.
Solution 1- Check if the Digital ID Certificate is Installed or Not
Verify whether a Digital ID certificate is installed on your system or not. Check which name is present in the certificate field. If its blank, the certificate might’ve expired or it might be missing entirely. Follow the steps to check this:
- Open Outlook and click on File > Options.
- Go to the Trust Center tab and select Trust Center Settings.
- Click on the Email Security tab.
- Under the Encrypted Email section, click on the Settings button.
- In the Email Security window, click on the Get Digital ID option to view the certificate name.
Solution 2- Check the Validity of Certificate
You might be facing the Digital ID cannot be found in Outlook if your certificate is outdated. Check its validity based on the following criteria:
- Expiration date: Check when is the certificate expiring, and if its still within the validity period or not.
- Certificate status: Verify the status of the certificate and if it’s revoked or not.
- Email identity: Check the email identity with which this certificate is configured and whether it corresponds to the email identity for which the certificate is being used.
- Private key: Verify once that the available private key is correct and functioning or not.
Note: If the certificate has expired, contact, and ask the Certificate Authority (CA) to reissue it and then install it on your system.
Solution 3- Turn on Server Authentication and Secure Email
If the Digital ID certificate is present but Outlook is unable to access it when trying to open an encrypted message, check the certificate settings. You can do so by enabling the Server Authentication and Secure Email for the Digital ID certificate.
- Press Win + R, type inetcpl.cpl and press Enter.
- Click on the Content tab > Certificates in the Internet Properties window.
- Open the Personal tab and look for the relevant certificate.
- Now, click on Advanced, and tick the Server Authentication and Secure Email checkbox.
- Close the certificates window and click on Apply in the Internet Properties window to save the changes.
Solution 4- Launch Outlook in Safe Mode
Running Outlook in safe mode helps you identify whether an add-in is contributing to the “your Digital ID name cannot be found” error or not. Follow the steps below:
- Press the Window key + X, and choose Run from the menu.
- Now, type Outlook /safe in the text box and press the OK button.
- Again, press OK when the Choose Profile window opens.
What to do if Outlook still can’t find your Digital ID?
If nothing helps you fix the “Your Digital ID name cannot be found by the underlying security system” error, you might need to check and verify the following things:
- Contact your certificate provider to check if it’s expired or revoked.
- Reach out to your IT administrator for guidance related this issue.
- Check if it’s possible to reissue the digital ID from your certificate provider.
- Check once if the digital ID works well in another profile. If it does, the problem might be related to your Outlook profile or the data file. If you do find the problem is related to your PST file that’s associated to the affected account, consider repairing the PST file promptly.
Conclusion
The appropriate fix for the ‘your Digital ID name cannot be found by the underlying security system’ error is usually just replacing the expired or missing digital ID certificate. If you face this error with a specific sender, try asking them to resend the email. If you still can’t open or access encrypted emails, check if your organizations’ email gateway has the right private key or not.
Frequently Asked Questions
A. Yes, the ‘Your Digital ID name cannot be found by the underlying security system’ error or other errors related to the S/MIME certificate occurs in New Outlook as well. If digital signing is enabled in your New Outlook profile without a Digital ID certificate, then you’ll see an error message stating S/MIME isn’t working or Digital ID is needed.
A. While it may contribute to this error, it’s not a common cause for it. If your Digital ID certificate is available and your Outlook still doesn’t allow you to open encrypted emails, then it can be possible.
A. No, not necessarily. The primary cause for this error is an expired or missing digital ID certificate. Unless there are other related symptoms present, you shouldn’t suspect PST corruption as a cause for this error.
