What is a Certificate Authority (CA)? - SSL.com (2024)

What is a Certificate Authority (CA)? - SSL.com (1)

Certificate authorities (CAs) are critical in securing online communications and identities. But what exactly does a CA do? And how do they establish trust online? This guide will help answer these questions.

What is the Role of a Certificate Authority?

A certificate authority is a company or organization that acts to validate the identities of entities (such as websites, email addresses, companies, or individual persons) and bind them to cryptographic keys through the issuance of electronic documents known as digital certificates.

A digital certificate provides:

  • Authentication, by serving as a credential to validate the identity of the entity that it is issued to.

  • Encryption, for secure communication over insecure networks such as the internet.

  • Integrity of documents signed with the certificate so that they cannot be altered by a third party in transit.

These certificates allow secure, encrypted communication between two parties through public key cryptography. The CA verifies the certificate applicant’s identity and issues a certificate containing their public key. The CA will then digitally sign the issued certificate with their own private key which establishes trust in the certificate’s validity.

CAs like SSL.com embed their root certificates into operating systems, browsers, and other applications like Adobe products in the case of document signing certificates. This allows them to issue SSL/TLS certificates for websites, email certificates, code signing certificates, and more. Relying parties can then trust certificates chained to these root CAs.

Secure your website with SSL.com’s highly trusted SSL/TLS certificates. Get a free quote on domain validated, organization validated, or extended validation certificates.

How Does a CA Validate and Issue Certificates?

When requesting a certificate from a CA, the applicant first generates a public and private key pair. The private key should remain under the applicant’s sole control and ownership. However, in some cases the private key may be generated and stored securely in a hardware security module (HSM) controlled by the issuing CA.

The applicant then sends a certificate signing request (CSR) containing their public key and other identifying details to the CA through an online form.

Next, the CA will take steps to validate the applicant’s identity and the right to claim credentials such as domain names for server certificates or email addresses for email certificates in the CSR. This process varies by certificate type and validation level. For example, to issue an OV or EV SSL certificate, the CA will require business documents and authentication of the applicant’s identity and ownership of domain names.

If validation is successful, the CA issues the certificate containing the details and public key from the CSR. The CA digitally signs the issued certificate with their own private key to confirm they verified the identity.

What Are the Certificates CA’s Issue Used For?

Certificates are used in different ways depending on the certificate type:

  • For TLS/SSL certificates, the applicant installs the certificate on their web server to enable HTTPS and encrypt communication. The private key remains securely stored on the server.

  • For code signing certificates, the private key is used to digitally sign software, executables, scripts, etc.

  • S/MIME certificates for email security are installed in email clients and used to encrypt, sign or authenticate emails.

  • Client authentication certificates are installed on devices or users’ systems to authenticate their identity to servers or applications.

  • Document signing certificates are installed in document signing applications and used to apply certified digital signatures to electronic documents.

The proper use of the private key is essential for each certificate type and purpose.

What Does a Digital Certificate Contain?

A digital certificate is an electronic document that binds an identity to a cryptographic key pair through the CA’s signature.

Certificates may contain information such as:

  • Domain names

  • Email addresses

  • Business or individual identity

  • The public key used to enable encryption

  • Issuing CA details

  • Validity period

  • Certificate serial number

  • Signature to prevent tampering

By issuing a certificate, the CA states that the public key contained within belongs to the listed identity.

The corresponding private key is kept secret by the applicant. The public and private key pair allows secure encrypted communication through SSL/TLS and other protocols.

How Do CAs Help Establish Trust?

For an issued certificate to be trusted, the issuing CA must be trusted. CAs establish trust through certificate chains.

A certificate chain links your end-entity certificate back to a trusted root CA certificate through intermediate issuing CAs:

  • Trusted root CA certificate (trust anchor)

  • Intermediate CA certificates issued by root

  • End-entity certificate issued to the applicant

Browsers, devices, operating systems, and applications come with pre-installed root CA certificates from trusted authorities like SSL.com. By extending trust along the chain, SSL.com can issue trusted certificates.

Certificate chains allow trust to be extended in a scalable, secure way. Each link in the chain traces back to a trusted anchor. If any link in the chain is missing or untrusted, clients will see errors when accessing a site with that certificate installed. A proper chain is essential.

Does SSL.com Provide Trusted Certificates?

SSL.com is a certificate authority that issues different types of trusted digital certificates, including:

  • SSL/TLS certificates that secure websites with HTTPS

  • S/MIME certificates for securing email

  • Code signing certificates for verifying software

  • Client certificates for authenticating devices/users

  • Document signing certificates for proving e-document integrity

The root and intermediate certificates issued by SSL.com are embedded in all major web browsers and operating systems by default. This gives SSL.com the ability to sell trusted certificates to websites and organizations.

SSL.com also offers services like its hosted PKI platform, which allows companies to build their own private internal CA integrated with SSL.com’s public trust.

Final Thoughts

In summary, CAs form the backbone of trust online by issuing, validating, and managing digital certificates. While complex under the hood, they enable secure encrypted connections through public key infrastructure (PKI).

Now you understand the crucial role CAs play in confirming identities and establishing trusted communication between parties.

Contact our sales team for volume discounts and custom solutions tailored to your business’s certificate needs.

What is a Certificate Authority (CA)? - SSL.com (2024)

FAQs

What is a Certificate Authority (CA)? - SSL.com? ›

A certificate authority (CA) is a an organization that acts to validate identities and bind them to cryptographic key pairs with digital certificates. SSL.com Support Team.

What does a certificate authority CA do? ›

A certificate authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates. These digital certificates are data files used to cryptographically link an entity with a public key. Web browsers use them to authenticate content sent from web servers, ensuring trust in content delivered online.

How do I get a CA SSL certificate? ›

How Do I Get a CA Signed Certificate?
  1. Buy the certificate.
  2. Provide your certificate signing request (CSR). You can get this from your hosting control panel such as cPanel.
  3. Complete the validation process. With DV certificates, this can be as simple as clicking a link in a confirmation email.
  4. Get a cup of coffee.

What is an example of a certificate authority? ›

Examples include Comodo, GeoTrust, and Symantec. Becoming a Certificate Authority (CA) simply means that you (or your customers) are in charge of the issuing process of cryptographic pairs of private keys and public certificates.

What is the function of a certificate of authority? ›

A Certificate of Authority shows that you are authorized to do business in a state other than your original formation state. A Certificate of Authority is a requirement in most states. It's important to note that the name of the document can vary from state to state.

Do I need a certificate authority? ›

But every time you visit a protected website, you need certificate authorities to help you. A certificate authority provides two things: Digital certificates: These small data files contain identity credentials. Cryptographic keys: These pieces of data can encrypt and protect data in transit.

Is certificate authority a secret? ›

Certificate authorities are either public or private.

Can anyone get a SSL certificate? ›

Technically, anyone can create their own SSL certificate by generating a public-private key pairing and including all the information mentioned above. Such certificates are called self-signed certificates because the digital signature used, instead of being from a CA, would be the website's own private key.

How does SSL CA work? ›

An SSL certificate issued by a CA to an organization and its domain/website verifies that a trusted third party has authenticated that organization's identity. Since the browser trusts the CA, the browser now trusts that organization's identity too.

Is an SSL certificate free? ›

Free SSL Certificates

It's available in two options: Self-Signed Certificates and SSL Certificates signed by a Certificate Authority. Its level of encryption is comparable to paid SSLs. Both free and paid SSL certificates provide 256-bit certificate encryption and 2048-bit key encryption.

Is GoDaddy a certificate authority? ›

At GoDaddy, we're proud to be one of the largest and most well-known CAs in the world. We offer a wide range of SSL certificates to secure any type of websites, and our customer support team are always on standby to help if you have any questions.

How do I find my Certificate Authority? ›

You can go to your Domain Controller and find the Cert Publishers group in Active Directory. It should have your servers with the Certificate Authority role. If you run the Certutil cmd there, you can get the info of the certificates installed.

Who issues SSL certificates? ›

Certificate Authorities, or CAs, issue certificates to organizations after a vetting process known as validation.

What are CA certificates used for? ›

A certificate authority is a company or organization that acts to validate the identities of entities (such as websites, email addresses, companies, or individual persons) and bind them to cryptographic keys through the issuance of electronic documents known as digital certificates.

Where can I get a CA certificate? ›

Go to the Certificate Authority Service page on the Google Cloud console. Click Request a certificate. Select a region. The region must be the same as the region of the CA pool that you intend to use.

Is a certificate of authority the same as an EIN number? ›

Certificate of authority number is issued by State to indicate that the business is authorized to collect sales taxes. Federal tax Id is issued by IRS for identification purposes.So, these are different numbers.

What does a certificate authority check? ›

A certificate authority (CA), also sometimes referred to as a certification authority, is a company or organization that acts to validate the identities of entities (such as websites, email addresses, companies, or individual persons) and bind them to cryptographic keys through the issuance of electronic documents ...

What are two roles of a certificate authority CA in a trusted third party CA certificate? ›

Authentication, by serving as a credential to validate the identity of the entity that it is issued to. Encryption, for secure communication over insecure networks such as the internet. Integrity of documents signed with the certificate so that they cannot be altered by a third party in transit.

What is the difference between a certificate authority and a root CA? ›

This is actually fairly straightforward. A Root CA is a Certificate Authority that owns one or more trusted roots. That means that they have roots in the trust stores of the major browsers. Intermediate CAs or Sub CAs are Certificate Authorities that issue off an intermediate root.

Does California require a certificate of authority? ›

To operate in California, all insurers must gain admittance by obtaining a Certificate of Authority.

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