SecurityIntermediate
Certificate Authority (CA)
Pronunciationser-TIF-i-kit aw-THOR-i-tee
Definition
A trusted third-party organization that verifies the identity of entities and issues digital certificates to enable secure HTTPS connections. It acts as a root of trust for validating that a public key belongs to a specific domain or server.
Where you hear it
During server configuration, SSL/TLS implementation, or when troubleshooting browser security warnings.
Examples
The server requires a valid certificate signed by a trusted Certificate Authority to enable HTTPS.
We need to renew our domain certificate before the Certificate Authority expires it.
Common mistake
Confusing a self-signed certificate with one issued by a trusted CA; self-signed certificates are not verified by a third party and will trigger security warnings in browsers.