Certification Authority (CA)

CAs certify individuals and/or businesses that need or want access to secure organizational information, sometimes within websites. In doing so, CAs collect information to screen individuals during the authentication process. The amount of information collected and/or the complexity of the screening process is directly related to how secure the information is. There are both internal and external certification authorities, which can be individuals or a group. Internally, CAs assist in communication between employees and computer links. Externally, they allow clients to access links within an organization’s or company’s website. Root certificates may enable a user to be permitted to view specified information when more than one CA exists. VeriSign is an example of a company that would employ several CAs.