Whois & Analysis for rapidssl.com

In cryptography, a certificate authority or certification authority (CA) is an entity that issues digital certificates.

A digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate.

This allows others (relying parties) to rely upon signatures or on assertions made about the private key that corresponds to the certified public key.

A CA acts as a trusted third party—trusted both by the subject (owner) of the certificate and by the party relying upon the certificate.

The format of these certificates is specified by the X.509 standard.

In cryptography, a public key certificate, also known as a digital certificate or identity certificate, is an electronic document used to prove the ownership of a public key.

The certificate includes information about the key, information about the identity of its owner (called the subject), and the digital signature of an entity that has verified the certificate's contents (called the issuer).

If the signature is valid, and the software examining the certificate trusts the issuer, then it can use that key to communicate securely with the certificate's subject.

In email encryption, code signing, and e-signature systems, a certificate's subject is typically a person or organization.

However, in Transport Layer Security (TLS) a certificate's subject is typically a computer or other device, though TLS certificates may identify organizations or individuals in addition to their core role in identifying devices.

TLS, sometimes called by its older name Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), is notable for being a part of HTTPS, a protocol for securely browsing the web.