Public Key Infrastructure

Public Key Infrastructure
Systems for managing public-key certificates and trust

Public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of technology, policies and operational processes supporting use of public-key certificates. A certificate can associate an identity or other subject description with a public key under an issuing authority's rules. PKI supports many authenticated and encrypted communication systems.

Certificates and keys

Public and private keys are related cryptographic values with different roles. A private key should be protected against unauthorized disclosure; a corresponding public key can be distributed as required. Certificates convey claims about keys and subjects rather than eliminating all trust decisions.

Lifecycle

A PKI deployment must address certificate issuance, validation, expiration, replacement and revocation, as well as key generation and protection. NIST provides general guidance on cryptographic-key management.

Robotic devices

Connected robots and controllers may use certificates to authenticate mutually and secure traffic. A well-designed system still needs authorization checks and safe failure handling; possessing a valid certificate is not permission to perform every command.

Further reading

• Zero Trust Architecture, SP 800-207 — NIST

See also

• Digital Identity
• Machine Identity
• Robot Authentication
• Verifiable Credentials
• Zero Trust Security
• Identity Verification