Certificate Authority
A certificate authority is an organisation that signs
digital certificates for third-parties. Digital certificates are used by
companies for security reasons. For example, they can be used to encrypt
content and to validate that the content has not been modified by a
third-party.
In order to obtain a digital certificate, companies must
approach a certificate authority. Quite a few certificate authorities are now
in business. The authority then checks the applicant’s identity. This is often
an automated process. For example, the certificate authority may place an
automated call back to the company in order to validate that the correct phone
number has been provided. If the data has been validated successfully, the
certificate authority can then issue a digital certificate.
Certificates issued by an
certificate authority are valid for a limited time frame. Usually, certificates
are only valid for one year and must be renewed on the expiry date. If an
expired certificate is used, the user will normally show a warning message. If
this happens, the company should contact the certificate authority to get the
certificate renewed.
