Certificate Authority
CA
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
A Certificate Authority is like the DMV of the internet — a trusted organization that vouches for websites' identities. When a CA signs a certificate, your browser trusts it because your browser already trusts the CA. If the CA goes rogue, the whole chain of trust collapses.
Real Talk
A Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues and signs digital certificates. Browsers and operating systems ship with a list of trusted root CAs. A CA's signature on a certificate proves the certificate holder's identity was verified. Let's Encrypt is the most popular free CA.
When You'll Hear This
"Let's Encrypt is the CA we use for all our domains." / "The internal CA signed the dev certificate."
Related Terms
Asymmetric Encryption
Asymmetric encryption uses two different keys — one to lock (public key), one to unlock (private key).
Certificate
A certificate is a digital ID card for a website, signed by a trusted authority.
HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure)
HTTPS is HTTP but with a bodyguard. All the data flying between your browser and the website is scrambled so nobody can spy on it.
Public Key
A public key is like your open mailbox — anyone can drop a message in it (encrypt data with it), but only you have the key to open the box and read it (you...
TLS (TLS)
TLS (Transport Layer Security) is the updated, actually-secure version of SSL. It's the technology that puts the padlock in your browser's address bar.