Authentication

Public Key Infrastructure

Public Key Infrastructure is the trust framework used to manage digital certificates, cryptographic identity, and trusted exchanges between systems and users.

Acronym
PKI
Synonym
PKI

Definition

Public Key Infrastructure, or PKI, is the set of services, trust anchors, cryptographic mechanisms, and governance processes used to issue, validate, manage, and revoke digital certificates. In IAM, PKI is used to bind identities to cryptographic material, support secure authentication, enable encryption, and provide digital signature capabilities that establish trust between people, devices, and systems.

These concepts matter most inside a real project.

The first conversation helps establish your context, the systems involved and the next useful decision.