Information, Computer and Network Security Terms Glossary and Dictionary

CA: Certification Authority

In the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), a certification authority is a trusted third party who confirms the identity of an organization or individual (an entity). The CA will first satisfy itself that the entity is exactly who or what it claims to be, and will then issue that entity with a "certificate". Basically, CA is an authority in a network that issues and manages security credentials and public keys for message encryption.

Related Terms

CA: Certification Authority