Certification Authority
A certification authority (CA) is an entity which issues digital certificates for use by other parties. It is an example of a trusted third party. CAs are characteristic of many public key infrastructure (PKI) schemes.
There are many commercial CAs that charge for their services. Institutions and governments may have their own CAs, and there are free CAs.
Read more about this topic: X.509
Famous quotes containing the word authority:
“It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties.... Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects?”
—James Madison (1751–1836)