PKI Explained: How Trusted Certificates Verify Online Identities

Summary

A beginner-friendly explanation of how Public Key Infrastructure uses trusted Certificate Authorities to sign certificates that bind public keys to identities, supporting trust in digital communications.

Key points

• PKI manages digital certificates that associate public keys with people, organizations, or devices.
• A Certificate Authority signs a certificate after verifying the identity it represents.
• The article explains how trusted certificates help users distinguish legitimate websites from impostors.
• It presents authentication, confidentiality, data integrity, and non-repudiation as PKI objectives.
• A passport analogy compares Certificate Authorities to governments that issue trusted identity documents.