Glossary

Advanced Interactive Executive

An IBM version of the UNIX operating system.

Certificate Authority

An entity that issues the digital certificates used in public-key cryptography and attests to the identity of the person or organization to whom it issues the digital certificates. It also is called certification authority or certifying authority.

Public Key Infrastructure

The PKI framework used to securely exchange information, using certification authorities (CAs) and digital signatures to verify and authenticate the validity of persons engaged in Internet, intranet, and extranet transactions. A reliable PKI system is necessary before implementing a secure e-commerce strategy.

Key Material Object

The PKI framework used to securely exchange information, using certification authorities (CAs) and digital signatures to verify and authenticate the validity of persons engaged in Internet, Intranet, and Extranet transactions. A reliable PKI system is necessary before implementing a secure e-commerce strategy.

X.509 certificates are the current industry standard for digital certificates. However, companies have implemented the X.509 standard in different ways, rendering some generated X.509 Certificates unreadable across software products from different companies. See X.509 Property Page for digital certificate specifications that have been recommended by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) since 1988.