A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is a PKI certificate signed by a CA. A CSR is more secure than a self-signed certificate because a third party has verified it.
How Do PKI Certificates Work?
PKI certificates use a process called public-key cryptography, which encrypts data with two keys: a public key and a private key.
The public key is available to anyone, while the owner keeps the private key secret. PKI certificates use the public key to encrypt data and the private key to decrypt it.
The encrypted data with the public key can only be decrypted with the corresponding private key. This process is called asymmetric encryption, which makes PKI certificates so secure.
If an attacker intercepts a PKI certificate, they would not be able to decrypt the data without the private key.
PKI certificates are used to secure communications between two parties. For example, when you visit a website, your browser will use the website’s PKI certificate to encrypt the data sent between your computer and the server.
This process protects your data from being intercepted by an attacker. PKI certificates are also used to sign data. Signing data is a way of verifying the authenticity of the data.
