A Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted organization that authenticates the digital identities of entities—ranging from individuals to servers and devices—and issues digital certificates to confirm those identities. CAs help reduce impersonation, manage the lifecycle of digital certificates, and establish trust in online interactions.
Much like the state government issuing you a driver’s license, certificate authorities vet the certificate applicants and issue credentials based on their findings. Just as someone trusts the validity of your license based on the authority of the government, devices trust digital certificates based on the authority of the issuing certificate authorities. This process is similar to how code signing works to verify programs and downloads.
Why do certificate authorities matter?
Without certificate authorities, our technological world would feel like the wild, wild west. Digital communication would lack integrity, privacy, and trust—and when identities aren’t verified, it opens the door to impersonation, phishing, and man-in-the-middle attacks.
CAs are foundational to the public key infrastructure (PKI) that supports encryption, digital signatures, and secure communication across the internet. PKI enables encryption and identity assurance through digital certificates, and CAs are the backbone of that ecosystem.
Trusted CAs such as DigiCert, Let’s Encrypt, and Symantec act as neutral, verified third parties validating entities and issuing certificates confirming the legitimacy of websites, code, users, and machines. CAs carefully build and maintain trust by validating the credentials of businesses before issuing them certificates. When an organization uses a CA, its users know they’re communicating with a legitimate system—not an imposter.
Why are CAs important to DevOps, InfoSec, and DevSecOps?
CAs are essential to modern development and security practices because they ensure that machine identities and transactions are legitimate and secure throughout the development lifecycle.
Infosec teams rely on CAs to protect sensitive data and maintain user trust. As businesses move to a software-first model, machine identities must be deployed continuously, not just at the perimeter. Developers in DevOps and DevSecOps environments require seamless, secure access to trusted certificates to avoid using insecure workarounds.
Without easy access to trusted CAs, developers may cut corners, exposing organizations to vulnerabilities and non-compliance. CAs are crucial to protecting workloads, maintaining compliance, and securing modern digital infrastructure.
What is a registration authority?
A registration authority (RA) is an entity authorized by a CA to validate certificate requests and approve or deny issuance on a case-by-case basis. While the CA is responsible for issuing the certificate, the RA handles the identity verification step. All certificates that are requested, issued, or revoked by both the CA and the RA are stored in an encrypted certificate database.
Certificate history and information is also kept on a certificate store—usually on the local machine—which holds issued certificates, private keys, and related data relevant to the certificate history. Google Wallet is a modern example of this kind of secure certificate store used for identity and payment verification.
How does a certificate authority work?
A CA works by verifying the identity of the requester and issuing a digital certificate that enables encrypted communication and trust.
To validate a machine as legitimate, you must first request a certificate through a certificate signing request (CSR). This request will contain details about the requesting organization, their domain name, and a public encryption key.
Once a CA receives a request, they will verify that the requester is who they claim to be. Sometimes this is just a simple domain validation, but sometimes a more extended process exists. Once the CA has completed that verification, they will sign the provided public key with their own private key. That creates a digital certificate, which gets sent back to the requester and installed.
Here’s how CAs establish trust in each step of the issuance process:
The lifecycle of a digital certificate
| 1. Submit a certificate signing request (CSR) | The organization submits a CSR containing its domain name, public key, and identifying information. |
| 2. CA validates the requester | The CA verifies the identity of the requester. This may involve domain validation (DV), organization validation (OV), or extended validation (EV), depending on the certificate type. |
| 3. CA signs the public key | After successful certificate validation, the CA uses its private key to sign the public key submitted in the CSR. |
| 4. Digital certificate is issued | The CA issues the signed certificate and sends it back to the requester. |
| 5. Installation and trust | The digital certificate is installed on the server or device, enabling encrypted and authenticated communication. |
Types of certificate authorities
CAs come in several forms, each serving a specific role in the digital trust chain—from publicly trusted root issuers to internal CAs used within enterprise environments. Table 2.
Each CA type plays a distinct role in establishing and managing digital trust across public and private ecosystems:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Root certificate authorities | The top-level authority. Root CAs are embedded in browsers and OSes. |
| Intermediate certificate authorities | Act as a bridge between the root CA and issued certificates, adding a layer of protection. |
| Public vs private CAs | Public CAs are widely trusted by browsers; private CAs are used within organizations. |
| Enterprise/internal CAs | Used for internal systems, often managed via Active Directory or enterprise PKI. |
Certificate authorities: Real-world examples
The following real-world case studies illustrate how CAs are part of an enterprise security strategy, especially when combined with certificate lifecycle management and code signing controls.
- A large transportation company used CyberArk Code Sign Manager to enforce certificate authority policies, automate certificate lifecycles, and help prevent the execution of unsigned code—ultimately reducing the risk of ransomware and securing their internal software supply chain.
>>Read more - A global bank used CyberArk to enforce certificate policies and automate code signing for millions of XML files in its loan system. This helped ensure data integrity, centralized key control, and faster processing—demonstrating how Certificate Authorities support trust and compliance at scale.Intermediate Certificate Authorities
>>Read more - A leading healthcare technology provider replaced its outdated, insecure code signing process with a centralized, certificate-driven approach. By automating key provisioning, integrating with their CI/CD pipeline, and enforcing access controls, they secured development workflows and improved both visibility and speed across the organization.
>>Read more
How to choose the right certificate authority
Choosing the right CA depends on your organization’s trust needs, budget, and infrastructure compatibility.
Factors to consider:
- Reputation: Look for consistent performance and strong security practices. Their status with the CA/B Forum is a great indicator of their track record.
- Validation levels: Match your risk tolerance to domain, organization, or extended validation options. Not all CAs provide the same level of validation—work with one that meets your needs.
- Certificate types: Ensure the CA provides the right kinds—SSL, code signing, email, etc.
- Customer support: If you’re not sure where to begin, opt for CAs with strong support and guidance. Research existing CAs to see who provides excellent support and easy-to-understand guidance.
- Cost: Balance affordability with features and trustworthiness. Security is important, but you also want competitive pricing.
- Revocation capabilities: If a certificate gets compromised, quick revocation is key to damage control.
- Interoperability: Ensure compatibility with major platforms and devices to kKeep operations running smoothly.
Certificate authority vs self-signed certificates
CAs issue certificates that are trusted across systems and browsers, while self-signed certificates are issued by the entity itself and not inherently trusted by others. Here’s a closer look at CA-issued vs. self-signed certificates:
| Feature | CA-Issued Certificate | Self-Signed Certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Level | Trusted by browsers/devices | Untrusted by default |
| Use Case | Public-facing, secure sites | Internal testing/dev only |
| Cost | May incur a fee | Free |
| Revocation Support | Yes | No |
The role of certificate authorities in identity security
CAs are foundational to identity security by enabling encrypted, authenticated communications and verifying machine and user identities. They ensure only legitimate parties can access systems, helping organizations implement Zero Trust architectures and prevent unauthorized access.
FAQs
Are certificate authorities required for HTTPS?
Yes. A trusted digital certificate issued by a CA is required to enable HTTPS and display the padlock icon in browsers. Without it, browsers will flag the site as insecure.
Can certificate authorities be hacked?
Yes. While rare, CAs have been compromised in the past. That’s why redundancy, transparency logs, and Certificate Transparency (CT) monitoring are important in modern PKI practices.
CyberArk and certificate authorities
CyberArk help organizations gain control over CA operations with automated certificate lifecycle management and policy enforcement. Solutions like CyberArk Certificate Manager and Code Sign Manager let teams define trusted CAs, enforce approval workflows, and ensure only verified, signed code runs in production. Seamless integration with existing PKI and DevOps pipelines delivers the visibility, automation, and governance needed to reduce risk, accelerate development, and scale digital trust.
