Happy 'Security Tuesday', Community!
Long time, no see in this Forum for quite some time now, but worry not! A brand new blog post in now underway. A brand new blog post on yet another hot topic seeing a fairly amount of chatter lately in our Community, that is, Public Key Infrastructure or PKI.
A relatively novel concept in the security business, Public Key Infrastructure is definitely worth a closer look especially in the current context of the pandemic - 2021 has registered the highest number of cybercrimes in the past decade. Let's discover what this is all about in the following sections!
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Let's start with a short video that explains the basics of Public Key Infrastructure:
Let us put the knowledge presented into words, shall we? For that, we are going to turn to our friends over at ThalesGroup.com: 'the Public key infrastructure (PKI) is the set of hardware, software, policies, processes, and procedures required to create, manage, distribute, use, store and revoke digital certificates and public-keys. PKIs are the foundation that enables the use of technologies, such as digital signatures and encryption, across large user populations. PKIs deliver the elements essential for a secure and trusted business environment for e-commerce and the growing Internet of Things (IoT).'
Going even further, they describe the main functionality of PKI: 'PKIs help establish the identity of people, devices, and services – enabling controlled access to systems and resources, protection of data, and accountability in transactions. Next generation business applications are becoming more reliant on PKI technology to guarantee high assurance, because evolving business models are becoming more dependent on electronic interaction requiring online authentication and compliance with stricter data security regulations.'
Now it's time to put everything simply. In a nutshell, Public Key Infrastructure is a suite of measures that make possible public authentication. Not a bad concept, is it? :)
WHERE CAN PKI BE USED?
- email security;
- web communication security;
- digitally signing applications & software;
- encrypting/decrypting files;
- authentication of smart cards.
PKI BENEFITS
Public Key Infrastructure provides countless benefits to the enterprise that decides to go with this approach. It is worth, thus, mentioning:
- increased availability - there are millions of applications and connected devices that require public authentication and PKI is there to serve them;
- enhanced overall security - PKI authentication via the utilization of digital certificates is the most effective way to protect confidential electronic data;
- a boost in trust - common operating systems and business applications are starting to rely now more than ever before on an organizational PKI to guarantee trust.
