Certificate Authority (CA) Glossary Definition

A Certificate Authority (CA) is an independent third party that verifies the online identity of an entity. They issue digital certificates that contains information about the owner of the certificate and details of the certificates, thus verifying the identity of the owner.

See also: CA.

Certificate Authority is a Web security or Internet privacy concept used to protect users, sessions, resources, or browser interactions from misuse.

In security and compliance work, this term helps teams describe controls, risks, identity practices, standards, audits, or protective technologies. It is relevant when managing access, reducing exposure, documenting safeguards, or demonstrating accountability.

Security teams, developers, and site owners use this concept when reducing risk in browser sessions, authentication flows, embedded content, and public-facing applications.

Related concepts include Authentication, Transport Layer Security and Cookie.

Additional Resource: MDN Web Docs Glossary.