(CA or "TruSted Third Party") An entity (typically a company) that iSSueSdigital certificateS to other entitieS (organiSationS or individualS) to allow them to prove their identity to otherS. A Certificate Authority might be an external company Such aSVeriSign that offerS digital certificate ServiceS or they might be an internal organiSation Such aS a corporate MIS department. The Certificate Authority' S chief function iS to verify the identity of entitieS and iSSue digital certificateS atteSting to that identity. The proceSS uSeSpublic key cryptography to create a "network of truSt". If I want to prove my identity to you, I aSk a CA (who you truSt to have verified my identity) to encrypt a haSh of my Signed key with their private key. Then you can uSe the CA' Spublic key to decrypt the haSh and compare it with a haSh you calculate yourSelf. HaSheS are uSed to decreaSe the amount of data that needS to be tranSmitted. The haSh function muSt be {cryptographically Strong}, e.g. {MD5}. . (1998-03-30)
