{"id":1317,"date":"2020-01-02T22:14:08","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T22:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/page\/?p=1317"},"modified":"2024-07-01T10:57:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T10:57:56","slug":"what-is-a-ca-certificate-authority-and-how-do-i-choose-the-right-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/page\/what-is-a-ca-certificate-authority-and-how-do-i-choose-the-right-one\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a CA Certificate Authority and How Do I Choose the Right One?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Ah, yes, the (internet) age-old question: What is a CA\ncertificate authority and how do I pick the best one for my business and\nwebsite? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To answer the first half of that question, we\u2019ll explore\nwhat a CA certificate authority is and what they do. After that, we\u2019ll tell you\nabout some of the things to keep in mind and flags to look out for when\nchoosing a certificate authority to issue your SSL\/TLS certificates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is a CA Certificate Authority?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A CA certificate authority, in reality, is a repetitious term\nfor a certificate authority, or what\u2019s known as a CA. So, when you say \u201cCA certificate\nauthority,\u201d you\u2019re technically saying \u201ccertificate authority certificate\nauthority.\u201d But we digress\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A certificate authority is a third-party organization that\nplay essential roles on the internet and its public key infrastructure. This\ntype of entity issues digital certificates for individuals and organizations to\nuse to assert identity and to secure their websites, software, email, and\ndocuments through authentication and encryption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These include X.509 digital certificates such as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/ssl-types\">SSL\/TLS<br>certificates<\/a>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/code-signing\">code<br>signing certificates<\/a>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>device certificates,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/id\/email-signing-certificate\">S\/MIME or email<br>signing certificates<\/a>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/id\/document-signing-certificate\">document<br>signing certificates<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In a nutshell, digital certificates are data files that contain\ninformation about the entity that issues the certificate as well as\norganization or person that requests it. It also includes other information\nsuch as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>certificate issuance and expiration dates, <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the type of certificate issued,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>contact information about the entity, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the certificate\u2019s public key. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Most publicly trusted CAs, such as Sectigo (formerly Comodo\nCA) participate I something known as the CA\/Browser Forum (CA\/B Forum), which\nserves as the governing body for the industry. As such, they must meet and\nadhere to certain standards and policies outlined by the forum. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Certificate Authorities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two main categories of certificate authorities: root\nCAs and intermediate CAs. A root CA issues root certificates, which are highly\nsensitive and typically protected by the CA to ensure its integrity, and the\nlatter issues intermediate certificates. That\u2019s because these certificates are created\nfor different purposes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A root CA can be used to generate an intermediate\ncertificate, but they should never be used to issue a server certificate\n(sometimes called a \u201cleaf certificate\u201d) because it leaves the root certificate\nat risk. That\u2019s why an intermediate certificate, which <em>can<\/em> be used to\nissue a server certificate, serves as a buffer between a root certificate and a\nserver certificate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Does a Certificate Authority Do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As we mentioned earlier, a CA certificate authority issues all\ntypes of X509 digital certificates. But before they issue a certificate,\nthough, they first need to verify information about the domain and\/or\norganization requesting the certificate. With SSL\/TLS certificates, for\nexample, there are three main levels of validation: domain validation (DV), organization\nvalidation (OV), and extended validation (EV). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first is the most basic form of validation and involves\nan automated process through which the CA verifies the domain (by sending the\nrequester a link in an email). The second is more in-depth validation that involves\nthe CA\u2019s staff manually reviewing and verifying information relating to the\nrequester and their organization. The third, by far, is the most in-depth validation\nprocess that requires the CA to verify additional information about the organization.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, in addition to issuing digital certificates, CAs also verify\nthe legitimacy or a website and the individual or organization requesting the\ncertificate. As a result, web browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox,\nApple Safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Edge trust certificates that are\nissued by CAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Do I Choose a CA Certificate Authority?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When choosing between different CAs, there are several\nthings you\u2019ll want to consider. For example, you\u2019ll want to choose one that\u2019s\nreliable and has a great reputation in the industry. For example, Sectigo is the\nworld\u2019s premier certificate authority and has been around for more than two\ndecades (formerly as Comodo CA). At SectigoStore.com, we\u2019re a Sectigo Platinum\nPartner, which helps us get the best and lowest prices on Sectigo and Sectigo\nsub-brand digital certificates!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When choosing a CA certificate authority, you\u2019ll want to find\none that fits your budget, but that shouldn\u2019t be your only consideration. Other\nimportant considerations include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>warranties \u2014 warranties can range from $10,000<br>to $1.75 million!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>customer service or technical support \u2014 some CAs<br>offer support in different ways, including email, phone, and web chat. Choose a<br>CA that offers all of them!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>trust seals \u2014 a trust seal helps you to establish<br>greater trust with site visitors and customers. Choose a CA that offers the<br>right website trust seal to meet your needs. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/\">SectigoStore.com<\/a>,\nour digital certificates are price at the lowest cost you\u2019ll find anywhere. See\nfor yourself: &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"graysection\">\n<h2>Save Up to 87% on DV SSL Certificates!<\/h2>\n<p>Get a PositiveSSL DV SSL\/TLS Certificate for as a little as $8.95 per year.<\/p>\n<a class=\"greenbutton\" style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/code-signing\/sectigo-ev-code-signing-certificate\">Shop Now<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ah, yes, the (internet) age-old question: What is a CA certificate authority and how do I pick the best one for my business and website? To answer the first half of that question, we\u2019ll explore what a CA certificate authority is and what they do. After that, we\u2019ll tell you about some of the things to keep in mind and flags to look out for when choosing a certificate authority to issue your SSL\/TLS certificates. What Is a CA Certificate Authority? A CA certificate authority, in reality, is a repetitious <a href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/page\/what-is-a-ca-certificate-authority-and-how-do-i-choose-the-right-one\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-1317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ssl-basics","tag-certificate-authority"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Is a CA Certificate Authority and How Do I Choose the Right One? - SectigoStore<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking for the right CA certificate authority to issue your digital certificates? We&#039;ve got everything you need to know about how to choose the best one.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/page\/what-is-a-ca-certificate-authority-and-how-do-i-choose-the-right-one\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is a CA Certificate Authority and How Do I Choose the Right One? - SectigoStore\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking for the right CA certificate authority to issue your digital certificates? 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