Thursday, December 29, 2011

Getting Root Signing Certificates From A Trusted Provider

By Cindy Burton


For a company, having an online presence has its gains and drawbacks. While exchanging info and transacting a deal are expedient and fast for both the business and its customers, the practice also presents security hazards if somebody else acquires the exchanged information. And in an online transaction, it is possible that someone can listen or tap to the discussion or pretend as an authorized person to steal sensitive records.

In order for consumers to deal with over the internet without being concerned about exposing their information to other parties, businesses secure their transactions using key encryption and digital certificates handed out by Certification Authorities, which are third party companies that guarantee the company operating online is saying the truth about its identity. A CA mainly confirm the identity of the website to guarantee visitors that it is safe to give their private information to the company.

There are big firms that set up their own Enterprise Certificate Authority since they need enhanced security for their various business operations. In this case, they require to self-sign a root certificate to issue digital certificates to their personnel and equipment to encode their communications and transactions. This practice could be more expensive and time-consuming for the organization, though.

With self-signed root certificates, though, they don't have the automatic faith of some operating systems, browsers, and email clientele. And if the root certificate doesn't have their faith, the certificates under it are likewise rendered ineffective. What the organization requires is a trusted root signing certificate that popular applications and commonly used browsers already recognize.

Distributing self-signed certificates to every client of large businesses is a massive task that can even take years to finish. But with a trusted root signing certificate from a well-known and trusted provider, it won't take that long. Just as self-signed root certificates utilizing applications like Microsoft Certificate Services and other in-house CA, the company can still create root certificate and distribute digital certificates. But what makes the big difference is that a trusted root from a recognized provider is already accepted and renowned by browsers and applications.




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