From the course: Complete Guide to Cybersecurity: A Practical Approach

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Introducing public key infrastructure (PKI)

Introducing public key infrastructure (PKI)

From the course: Complete Guide to Cybersecurity: A Practical Approach

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Introducing public key infrastructure (PKI)

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- [Instructor] PKI stands for Public Key Infrastructure, and it's basically a system of digital certificates, public and private key pairs and certificate authorities, or CA's, that are used to secure electronic communications and transactions. PKI is a critical component of modern cryptography, and it's used to authenticate the identity of users and devices, encrypt and decrypt messages, and ensure that the integrity of the data is of course kept. Now in PKI, a user or a device is assigned a unique data certificate that contains a public key and other identifying information. The digital certificate is then verified by a trusted third party certificate authority, which issues and signs the certificate. Now, the CA's digital signature on the certificate itself validates the authenticity of the user or the device, and the public key contained in the certificate can then be used for encryption and digital signatures. PKI is used in a wide range of applications, including secure email…

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