PKI
Public Key Infrastructure — the framework of certificates, authorities, and policies enabling secure communications.
Also: PKI
Definition
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a framework of policies, procedures, hardware, software, and standards that manage the creation, distribution, management, storage, and revocation of digital certificates. PKI enables secure electronic communication by binding public keys to the identities of entities (people, devices, servers) through Certificate Authorities (CAs). PKI underpins HTTPS, email encryption (S/MIME), code signing, and VPNs. The chain of trust — root CA, intermediate CA, end-entity certificate — is fundamental to PKI.
Example
“When your browser trusts a website's HTTPS certificate, it validates a chain of trust from the site's certificate back to a trusted root CA embedded in the operating system.”
Synonyms
- certificate infrastructure
- digital trust framework
- PKI
Antonyms / Opposites
- shared secret
- symmetric key system
Images
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Related Terms
- ssl
- tls
- certificate-authority
- encryption