Digital Certificates - Reading Assignment

[kwaben]

1. What is a digital certificate?
   A public key certificate that links owner of the key to the to the owner’s identity
2. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?
   A public key is the code used to encrypt data sent to the owner and authenticate the the owner’s signature
3. What is the most common use case for digital certificates?
   SSL communication protocol between webservers & webbrowsers
4. What is a certificate authority?
   A trusted 3rd party that issues digital certificates

[alonsoalvaradojr]

1. What is a digital certificate?
   A digital certificate is used to link the public key with the entity that owns it. the information is cryptographically linked to allow only the person meant to open the info to do so.
2. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?
   The digital certificate enables entities to share their public key in a way that can be authenticated.
3. What is the most common use case for digital certificates?
   the most common use case for digital certificates is to assure authenticity of data and to share keys for encrypting and decrypting web content
4. What is a certificate authority?
   a certificate authority is the issuer that links the public keys with the owner

[alemr]

1. What is a digital certificate?
   –> “… also known as a public key certificate, is used to cryptographically link ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it. Digital certificates are for sharing public keys to be used for encryption and authentication.”
2. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?
   –> Digital certificates contain the public keys and a lot of metadata regarding the digital certificate itself and a public key’s digital signature supplied by the certificate’s issuer.
3. What is the most common use case for digital certificates?
   –> Guarantee that the communication process between clients (web-browsers) and servers will follow secure connections.
4. What is a certificate authority?
   –> “CAs are considered trusted third parties in the context of a PKI; using a trusted third party to issue digital certificates enables individuals to extend their trust in the CA to the trustworthiness of the digital certificates that it issues.”

[Murisoja]

@filip

Welcome to the discussion about this reading assignment.

Leave your answers to the questions below in this thread. If you have any questions or you want to discuss something connected to the assignment feel free to do it in this thread as well, but please everything to the topic.

1. What is a digital certificate?
2. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?
3. What is the most common use case for digital certificates?
4. What is a certificate authority?

1. public key certificate. cryptographically links the ownership of a public key that owns it.
2. a digital certificate, usually contains info, like the name of the issuer, or other info about the entity that owns the public key, and has a digital signature that proves the entity owns the public key.
3. initializing secure SSL connections between web browser and web servers.
4. trusted 3rd party

[Y2z3H]

1. A digital certificate is a cryptographic link between the owner of a public key and the entity that owns it. Public keys for encryption and authentication are shared through digital certificates.

2. Key pairs are used in public key cryptography: one is a private key that the owner keeps and uses for signing and decrypting, and the other is a public key that can be used to encrypt data submitted to the public key owner or to authenticate the certificate holder’s signed data. The digital certificate allows companies to authenticate their public key and share it with others.

3. The most common use of digital certificates is to establish secure SSL connections between web browsers and web servers.

4. Certificate authorities (CAs) are behind the issuance of digital certificates. In the context of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), CAs are considered trustworthy third parties; by utilising a trusted third party to produce digital certificates, individuals can extend their faith in the CA to the trustworthiness of the digital certificates it provides.

[Fjell]

1.A digital certificate (public key certificate), is used to cryptographically link the ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it; i.e. digital certificates enable the sharing of public keys to be used for encryption and authentication purposes.
2. The difference between a digital certificate and a public key is that as well as containing the public key being certified, identifying information about the entity that owns the public key, metadata relating to the digital certificate and a “digital signature” of the public key created by the issuer of the certificate are also included.
3. The most common use case for digital certificates is that they are used for initializing Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections between web browsers and web servers; i.e. the standard technology for keeping an internet connection secure and safeguarding any sensitive data that is being sent between two systems, and preventing criminals from reading and modifying any information transferred, including potential personal details.
4.A certificate authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues digital certificates. CAs are considered trusted third parties in the context of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), the system by which public keys are distributed and authenticated; using a trusted third party to issue digital certificates enables individuals to extend their trust in the CA to the trustworthiness of the digital certificates that it issues.

[supertramp007]

1. What is a digital certificate? Digital certificates are for sharing public keys to be used for encryption and authentication
2. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key? Digital certificates include public keys as well as metadata, digital signatures etc. Public keys are authentication of the certificate holder’s signed data or encryption of data sent to the public key owner. The digital certificate enables entities to share their public key in a way that can be authenticated.
3. What is the most common use case for digital certificates? SSL connections between web browsers and web servers
4. What is a certificate authority? trusted third parties in the context of a PKI

[angelo]

1)A Digital Certificate is used to cryptographically link ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it.
2)Digital Certificates are used to intializing secure SSL connections between web browsers and web servers.
Public Keys depend on key pairs: Private Key and Public Key
3)DC are used in We browsers and servers and provides assurance that the content has not been modified by any unauthorized actors.
4)Certificat Authorities are considered a trusted third party in the context of PKI used to issue DC.

[Mohamed_Farah]

1. Digital certificate cryptographically links public key with the entity that owns that public key. Included in the digital certificate is information of the entity that owns that public key, metadata relating to the digital certificate and a digital signature.

2. The difference between a digital certificate and the public key is that the digital certificate has information and links the entity with its respective public key. Public key by itself does not have this information.

3. The most common use case for a digital certificate is initialising secure ssl connections. This ensures a safe connection between the servers and web browsers. This allows for assurance for e.g. that information that is seen on a web page has not been tampered with by an unauthorised party.

4 .Certificate authority are trusted third parties that issues digital certificate. This trusted third party allows for individuals to trust the authenticity of digital certificates.

[Chris83]

1. A digital certificate, also known as a public key certificate, is used to cryptographically link ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it. Digital certificates are for sharing public keys to be used for encryption and authentication. Basically it is a way to verify ownership of public keys.

2. A public key is not linked with the entity that owns it and a digital certificate does just that, links the public key with the entity that owns it. A public key can be used for encryption of data. Digital certificates include the public key being certified, identifying information about the entity that owns the public key, metadata relating to the digital certificate and a digital signature of the public key created by the issuer of the certificate.

3. Digital certificates are used in public key cryptography functions; they are most commonly used for initializing secure SSL connections between web browsers and web servers.

4. It is a trusted third party that issues digital certifications.

[AndyEken]

1. A digital certificate, or public key certificate, cryptographically links ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it. It includes the public key being certified, info about the entity, meta data related to the certificate and a digital signature. They are used for sharing of public keys.
   “The distribution, authentication and revocation of digital certificates are the primary purposes of the public key infrastructure (PKI), the system by which are distributed and authenticated.”

2. Public keys are used for encryption and authentication of data.

3. It is mostly used for initiating secure SSL and sharing of keys. It can assure that publicized content has not been modified by an unauthorized actor.

4. A trusted third party which issues certificates.

[Aleksander]

1. A digital certificate (aka private key certificate) is an electronic document that proves authenticity of a private key ownership and signature.

2. Digital certificate has wider meaning as it includes more information: about user and its authenticity confirmed by private key owned by the user.

3. The most common use case of digital certificate is initialization of a secure connection SSL between web browser and server.

4. Certificate Authority is a third partie, that ensures the rules of authentication. It issues digital certificates in the context of PKI.

[zozaa]

1. A digital certificate is a file or electronic password that proves the authenticity of a device, server, or user through the use of cryptography and the public key infrastructure (PKI).

Digital certificate authentication helps organizations ensure that only trusted devices and users can connect to their networks. Another common use of digital certificates is to confirm the authenticity of a website to a web browser, which is also known as a secure sockets layer or SSL certificate.

A digital certificate contains identifiable information, such as a user’s name, company, or department and a device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address or serial number. Digital certificates contain a copy of a public key from the certificate holder, which needs to be matched to a corresponding private key to verify it is real. A public key certificate is issued by certificate authorities (CAs), which sign certificates to verify the identity of the requesting device or user.

2. Public-key cryptography is based on the concept of a key pair, which consists of a public key and a private key. The owner of the key pair makes the public key available to anyone, but keeps the private key secret. A certificate verifies that an entity is the owner of a particular public key .

3. Digital certificates are most commonly used for initializing secure SSL connections between web browsers and web servers. Other uses:
   Client Authentication

Client authentication is an option in SSL that requires a server to authenticate a client’s digital certificate before allowing the client to log on or access certain resources. The server requests and authenticates the client’s digital certificate during the SSL handshake. At that time the server can also determine whether it trusts the CA that issued the digital certificate to the client.

Secure Electronic Mail

Many electronic mail systems, using standards such as Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) or Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) for secure electronic mail, use digital certificates for digital signatures and for the exchange of keys to encrypt and decrypt messages.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Virtual private networks, also called secure tunnels, can be set up between firewalls to enable protected connections between secure networks over insecure communication links. All traffic destined to these networks is encrypted between the firewalls.

4. CAs are considered trusted third parties in the context of a PKI; using a trusted third party to issue digital certificates enables individuals to extend their trust in the CA to the trustworthiness of the digital certificates that it issues.

[Allistair_Trent]

• What is a digital certificate?

A digital certificate, also known as a public key certificate, is used to cryptographically link ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it. Digital certificates are for sharing public keys to be used for encryption and authentication. Digital certificates include the public key being certified, identifying information about the entity that owns the public key, metadata relating to the digital certificate and a digital signature of the public key created by the issuer of the certificate.

• What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?

The digital certificate contains the public key in addition to information about the public key’s owner and other data.

• What is the most common use case for digital certificates?

Digital certificates are most commonly used for initializing secure [SSL] connections between web browsers and web servers.

• What is a certificate authority?

A certificate authority is a trusted third party that acts as the issuer of digital certificates.

[Crypto_PONY]

1. A digital certificate is used to cryptographically link ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it; they are for sharing public keys to be used for encryption and authentication.

2. A public key is a component of a digital certificate amongst the identity of the public key owner, metadata relating to the digital certificate and the digital signature of the public key.

3. They are most commonly used by web servers and web browsers to provide assurance that published content has not been modified by any unauthorized actors; used in the providing cryptographic assurance and privacy of data.

4. A certificate authority is a third party issuer of digital certificate.

[Divij_Dawar]

1. A digital certificate is used to cryptographically link the ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it.
2. The digital certificate contains the public key and the entity that owns it. While the public key is used to sign the transaction.
3. They are commonly used to secure SSL connections between web browsers and web servers. They are also used to prove the ownership of a public key.
4. A certificate authority is a trusted third party that issues digital certificates.

[Rob_Kammerer]

1. What is a digital certificate?
Digital certificates contain a copy of a public key from the certificate holder , which needs to be matched to a corresponding private key to verify it is real. A public key certificate is issued by certificate authorities (CAs), which sign certificates to verify the identity of the requesting device or user.

2. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?
The difference is that a public key is made available to everyone through a publicly accessible repository or directory. The certificate is used to confirm that the public key belongs to the specific organization.

3. What is the most common use case for digital certificates?
they are most commonly used for initializing secure SSL connections between web browsers and web servers. Digital certificates are also used for sharing keys to be used for public key encryption and authentication of digital signatures.

4. What is a certificate authority?
A certificate authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues digital certificates , which are data files used to cryptographically link an entity with a public key.

[DaanBoshoven]

1. Also known as public key certificate. Used to link ownership of a public key with the entity that owns it.

2. Digital certificates have more information than a public key. Contains info like name of the user plus has a digital signature.

3. Used by browsers and servers to provide assurance that published content has not been modified, and share keys for encrypting en decrypting web content.

4. Issuer of digital certificates.

[Alichia]

Reading Assignment: Digital Certificates:

• What is a digital certificate?
  • It is a digital artifact, that is used to cryptographically link ownership of a key with the entity that owns it.
• What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?
  • A Digital Certificate holds data and shares private keys
  • A Public Key is the cryptographic data
• What is the most common use case for a digital certificate?
  • Used for initializing secure SSL connections between web browser and a web server
• What is a Certified Authority?
  • Trusted third party that issues Digital Certificates

[OmeOmy]

1. What is a digital certificate?
   It is a public key certificate used to link an owner of a public key with the owner of the certificate and is issued by the CA authority.

2. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a public key?
   Digital certificate shares public keys to be authenticated. A public key is the encryption of data sent to the public key for authentication.

3. What is the most common use case for digital certificates?
   -Used as authentication between web browsers and wed servers.
   -cryptographic assurance and privacy.

4. What is a certificate authority?
   Trusted third parties that issue digital certificates.