X.509

What Does X.509 Mean?

X.509 is an ITU Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T) standard used in cryptography to implement public key infrastructure (PKI). Originally specified in 1988, X.509 relates to the use of certificates for digital and Web security.

Advertisements

Techopedia Explains X.509

Web browsers access digital certificates to alert users ideas to current security practices that work with the existing domain name system (DNS) and other Internet security protocols. X.509 certificate systems involve a particular structure that contains elements like version, serial number, issuer, validity and public key algorithms. All of this is specifically coded so that IT professionals know where to find a given piece of data.

The use of X.509 is part of an evolving process of network data authentication and encryption privacy. As cyberattackers take advantage of vulnerabilities in certificate and authentication processes and upon the identification of certificate exploits, experts work to strengthen the security of these systems.

Advertisements

Related Terms

Latest Cybersecurity Terms

Related Reading

Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…