Digital certificates are electronic files that are used to identify people and resources over networks such as the Internet. Digital certificates also enable secure, confidential communication between two parties using encryption.

When you travel to another country, your passport provides a way to establish your identity and gain entry. Digital certificates provide similar identification in the electronic world. Certificates are issued by a Certification Authority (CA). Much like the role of the passport office, the role of the CA is to validate the certificate holder’s identity and to “sign” the certificate so that it cannot be tampered with. Once a CA has signed a certificate, the holder can present their certificate to people, Web sites and network resources to prove their identity and establish encrypted, confidential communications.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology is a security protocol that is today’s de-facto standard for securing communications and transactions across the Internet. SSL has been implemented in all major browsers and Web servers, and as such, plays a major role in today’s e-commerce and e-business activities on the Web.