ITM517 MOD03 Discussion: Public Key Infrastructure

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
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Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
Introduction
With the increasing cybercrime, additional security is required. Identify other persons on the internet has become one of the main challenges that users of internet face. Security measures, therefore, need to be taken whenever confidential information is being exchanged. So far, the best solution to this kind of problem is the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). This is a third party agency that helps one identify the other party on the internet. This essay defines a public key infrastructure, explains how it works and provides an example of how to obtain a server certificate.
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a set of software, hardware, standards and policies that support the creation, distribution, administration and revocation of digital certificates and public encryption keys. It enables the computers and the users to perform authentication and exchange data securely over the internet and other networks (Techtarget.com, 2014). It is preferred over other forms of security because it not only ensures data security through encryption but also assures authentication.
How public key infrastructure work
A complex PKI utilizes many CAs with the main root CA. Root Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted party whose services authenticates other computers, individuals, and other entities. It holds a certificate that is self-signed. It issues certificates to the other CAs (Younglove, 2000). The subordinate CAs issue certificates to the Registration Authorities. Registration Authority is also referred as a subordinate Certificate Authority. It identifies or authenticates special users as permitted by the Certificate Authority. Certificate Database is where storage of certificate requests takes place. The database also issues and revokes certificates. Certificate Store is a place where the issue private keys and certificates are stored. Every user is...