Certificate Authority (CA)
A Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted entity in the realm of digital security, responsible for issuing, revoking, and managing digital certificates. These certificates are vital for establishing a secure channel over the internet, enabling encrypted communication and authenticating the identity of entities online. By ensuring that a public key belongs to the genuine owner, CAs play a critical role in the infrastructure of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, foundational to secure web browsing, e-commerce, and confidential communications.