Learning about certificate authorities

A CA is a trusted third party that issues certificates. These certificates are used to verify the identity of a computer or a website, as well as for encrypting and decrypting data.

While you can issue your own certificates, these are only for your private use. When you consider a website that you access using HTTPS, the web server uses a digital certificate that is globally recognized. The essence of the certificate is to confirm to others that the site they are visiting is what it claims to be.

The certificate contains the identity information of the entity that it is issued to, along with the entity’s public encryption key. This key is used by browsers to encrypt and decrypt data that is passed along between web/application servers and browsers/clients.

But how can you get a globally acceptable digital certificate?

Let’s Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt is a non-profit that makes obtaining certificates relatively easy...