Digital certificates
Digital certificates have been loosely described as
the driver's license for the Internet.
A digital certificate provides a binding
between an entity's public key,
and one or more attributes to its identity.
- An entity may be a person,
a executing piece of software,
or a device such as a router or a smart-card.
- A certification authority (CA) attests to the authenticity
of the entity's public key by digitally signing a message with its
own private key.
- The 'quality' of the certificate depends on the detail of information
provided to the CA (more later).
- Either, public and private keys may be issued by the CA,
or the CA may challenge the entity's public key.
The successful use of digital certificates appears within a large community -
little is gained by issuing one's own.
CITS3002 Computer Networks, Lecture 12, Cryptography's role in networking, p20, 22nd May 2024.
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CITS3002