{"id":1483,"date":"2020-12-14T21:53:17","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T21:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/blog\/?p=1483"},"modified":"2020-12-17T10:59:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T10:59:21","slug":"what-is-a-certificate-authority-certification-authorities-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/blog\/what-is-a-certificate-authority-certification-authorities-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Certificate Authority? Certification Authorities Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Certificate Authority – Regardless of whether you them certification authorities, certificate authorities, or CAs, we’re here to answer your top questions about these third-party entities and how they work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is a certificate authority? Well, before I can answer that, let’s back up a second and let me ask you something. Would you hand over your banking information, banking information, or social security number to a stranger on the street? Probably not. But people do the digital equivalent of this all the time through their favorite websites. They enter their personal details on ecommerce, banking, and credit bureau websites without knowing whether they\u2019re secure, safe, or trustworthy. Moreover, they do this without having any real understanding of what makes them <\/em>secure, safe, or trustworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how do you know whether a website is any of these things? For example, how do you know whether you\u2019re shopping on a legitimate ecommerce website or banking on the legitimate banking website? And how do you know that your info is transmitting securely? This is where something known as a certificate authority comes into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve put together a list of the top questions people ask about certification authorities to help you better understand their role in internet security. You can either choose to read through all of the content or you can simply pick and choose which questions you want answers to from the table of contents below.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table of contents<\/p>

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  1. Certificate Authority – Regardless of whether you them certification authorities, certificate authorities, or CAs, we’re here to answer your top questions about these third-party entities and how they work<\/a>
      <\/ol><\/li>
    1. What Is a Certification Authority (Certificate Authority)?<\/a>
        <\/ol><\/li>
      1. What Does a Certificate Authority Do?<\/a>
        1. Public CAs Are the Identification Card Issuers of the Internet<\/a>
            <\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/li>
          1. A Real-World Example of How a Public CA Works<\/a>
              <\/ol><\/li>
            1. Certificate Authority Validation Levels<\/a>
              1. Domain Validation<\/a>
                  <\/ol><\/li>
                1. Organization Validation<\/a>
                    <\/ol><\/li>
                  1. Extended Validation<\/a>
                      <\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/li>
                    1. Why Do We Need Certification Authorities?<\/a>
                      1. CAs Provide Verification (and Help You to Establish Trust with Others)<\/a>
                          <\/ol><\/li>
                        1. What Makes a Public CA Trustworthy?<\/a>
                          1. It\u2019s All About Trust\u2026<\/a>
                              <\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/li>
                            1. What Is an Example of a Certification Authority?<\/a>
                              1. Private Certificate Authorities<\/a>
                                  <\/ol><\/li>
                                1. Public Certificate Authorities<\/a>
                                    <\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/li>
                                  1. What Is the Role of a Certificate Authority in Public Key Infrastructure?<\/a>
                                      <\/ol><\/li>
                                    1. What Is a Digital Certificate and What Does It Do?<\/a>
                                      1. The Different Types of X.509 Digital Certificates<\/a>
                                          <\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/li>
                                        1. How Certificate Authorities Issue Digital Certificates for Websites<\/a>
                                            <\/ol><\/li>
                                          1. TLDR; A Quick Overview of Certification Authorities<\/a>
                                              <\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/div>\n\n\n\n

                                              What Is a Certification Authority (Certificate Authority)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                              A certificate authority is a third-party entity that\u2019s trusted by web browsers and operating systems to create and issue digital certificates.<\/strong> But their job is to do this for organizations and websites that they vet, which makes CAs integral to digital security (and internet security) as we know it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              A \u201ccertification authority\u201d is the original term for what we now commonly refer to as a certificate authority or a CA. So, you\u2019ll sometimes see them referred to by these different names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              What Does a Certificate Authority Do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                              Basically, a public certificate authority is a publicly trusted entity that issues digital certificates to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. These certificates are basically small data files that contain vetted identifying information about the organization. So, CAs are a way to prove yourself to people who don\u2019t know you (or your organization) personally by having a reputable third party vouch for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              But what does all of this mean when it comes to website security?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              Before issuing a certificate, the certification authority checks out the requesting organization. They look at documents and records from official sources to make sure that the company is legitimate. After that, the CA issues a digital certificate that the organization can use to secure their websites, software, and email communications using encryption and digital signatures<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              So, if you\u2019re someone who requests a certificate for your organization, here\u2019s what a certification authority helps you to achieve:<\/p>\n\n\n\n