Synonyms
Related Concepts
Definition
A CA is often called a “certificate authority” in the popular press and other literature, but this term is generally discouraged by PKI experts and practitioners because it is somewhat misleading: a CA is not an authority on certificates as much as it is an authority on the process and act of certification. Thus, the term “certification authority” is preferred.
Background
A certification authority (CA) is the central building block of a public-key infrastructure (PKI). It is a collection of computer hardware and software as well as the people who operate it. The CA performs four basic PKI functions: issuing certificates, maintaining and issuing certificate status information, publishing certificates and certificate status information, and maintaining archives of state information on expired and revoked certificates that it issued.
The primary function of a CA is to act as an authority that is trusted by...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Recommended Reading
Chokhani S, Ford W, Sabett R, Merrill C, Wu S (2003) Internet X.509 public key infrastructure: certificate policy and certification practices framework. Internet Request for Comments 3647
Adams C, Farrell S, Kause T, Mononen T (2005) Internet X.509 public key infrastructure: certificate management protocols. Internet Request for Comments 4210
Adams C, Lloyd S (2003) Understanding PKI: concepts, standards, and deployment considerations, 2nd edn. Addison-Wesley, Reading
Housley R, Polk T (2001) Planning for PKI: best practices guide for deploying public key infrastructure. John, New York
ITU-T Recommendation X. 509 (2005) Information technology – open systems interconnection – the directory: public key and attribute certificate frameworks (equivalent to ISO/IEC 9594-8:2001)
Myers M, Schaad J (2008) Certificate management messages over CMS. Internet Request for Comments 5272
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Adams, C., Housley, R., Turner, S. (2011). Certification Authority. In: van Tilborg, H.C.A., Jajodia, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5906-5_103
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5906-5_103
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5905-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5906-5
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceReference Module Computer Science and Engineering