Root Signing Certificates
What are Root Signing Certificates?
Root Signing Certificates allow you to independently sign certificates associated to a trusted root certificate. These certificates essentially make users their own Certificate Authorities (CAs), who can issue certificates, which are trusted by all the major browsers. They also simplify the issuance procedure by eliminating the step of validation through a CA.
A root certificate is a portion of a public key infrastructure scheme. The most common commercial variety is based on the ITU-T X.509 standard, which commonly includes a digital signature from a Certificate Authority (CA).
Once the trusted root has been established, it can be used to authorize subordinate CAs to issue digital certificates on its behalf.
The purpose for a Trusted Root is to shorten the internal processes and close the issuance and lifecycle management of digital certificates. The Root Certificates are best applicable for enterprise in-house solutions and PKI deployments configured with Microsoft Certificate Services.
The Purposes of a Root Signing Certificate
Some of the most significant reasons to use a Root Signing certificate are:
- Convenience
- Flexibility while using applications such as Microsoft Certificate Services, Active Directory or other in-house Certificate Authorities (CAs)
- The ability for an individual to sign any number of certificates
- It allows a company to create an authenticated network of websites, products and services
Common uses of a Root Signing Certificate
- Validation of ecommerce websites
- Effective encryption of sensitive data transmitted over the internet
- Establish secure and authenticated connections with clients or employees outside of a company
- To reduce the internal processes and close the issuance and digital certificate lifecycle management
- Also used in cloud-based mobile applications and programs
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