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Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is an infrastructure model for managing digital certificates and public/private keys, enabling confidentiality, integrity and authenticity. It comprises certificate authorities, registration authorities, certificate lifecycle and trust models and is embedded in numerous standards and protocols.
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A public key infrastructure manages digital certificates, keys, and trust rules so identities and secure connections can be verified.
PKI builds on asymmetric cryptography and the certificate-authority model. X.509 and RFC 5280 shape the widely used certificate model; organizations add enrollment, revocation, and renewal processes.
A certificate binds a public key to an identity; a trust chain and validity checks determine whether that binding is accepted. The private key stays secret, while expiry and revocation must be operated reliably.
A signed record binds a public key to an identity and validity information.
Root and intermediate certificate authorities allow verification that an issuer is trusted.
Issuance, distribution, renewal, revocation, and secure key storage form one lifecycle.
PKI provides scalable trust for TLS, devices, users, and signatures. Security depends as much on key protection, identity verification, and renewal operations as on cryptography.
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