User Guide
DIGITAL CRYPTOGRAPHY TERMS
CHAPTER 10: DECRYPTION POLICIES 185
Public key infrastructure (PKI) An arrangement that binds public keys with respective user
identities by means of a certificate authority.
X.509 is a standard that is an example PKI. X.509 specifies
standards for public key certificates and an algorithm for validating
certification paths.
Private key cryptography A system that uses the same key for encoding and decoding text.
Because both sides of the transaction need the same key, they need
a secure way to communicate which key to use in a particular
communication session. Usually, they set up secure
communication using public key cryptography and then generate a
temporary symmetric key to use for the rest of the session.
This is also known as symmetric key cryptography.
Root certificate A certificate that is the topmost certificate in a certificate tree
structure.
All certificates below the root certificate inherit the trustworthiness
of the root certificate.
Root certificates can be unsigned public key certificates or
self-signed certificates.
Self-signed certificate A digital certificate where the certificate authority is the same as the
certificate creator.
Table 10-1 Cryptography Terms and Definitions (Continued)
Term Definition