<cryptography, body> (CA) An entity that attests to the identity of a person or an organisation. A Certificate Authority might be an external company such as VeriSign that offers certificate services or they might be an internal organisation such as a corporate MIS department. The Certificate Authority's chief function is to verify the identity of entities and issue digital certificates attesting to that identity.
Netscape Certificate Server enables an organisation to act as its own Certificate Authority.
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[Connection with cryptography?]
(29 Sep 1996)