What is a PKI?

A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) provides cryptographic keys, certificates and further services for an efficient and reliable security management. With digital certificates which are issued by a Certification Authority (CA), a huge number of applications may be protected on a very high level. The certificates of a PKI may be used for secure E-Mail, Web-Security, Windows SmartCard-Logon, VPN, File and Folder encryption as well as for digital signatures.

For the encryption of a message for a recipient, a digital certificate is required which contains the public key of the recipient. A digital certificate may also serve for the strong authentication of users, servers or hardware components. It is also used for the validation of digital signatures.

PKI enables the management of cryptographic security mechanisms in large organisations. The security level may be increased significantly with PKI. The problems with forgotten or cracked passwords and the associated helpdesk cost may be minimised as well as the efforts for the managment of digital identities across systems. The access to confidential information may be controlled even when outsourcing sensitive areas of IT operations. E-Mails may be encrypted to any recipients using their certificates. Only PKI offers the use of digital signatures and a comprehensive automation of business processes.

• high security
• compliance
• solid basis for different security applications
• efficient Identity Management
• increased usability and
• cost reduction at administration and help desk