ABSTRACT
Many government agencies and private-sector companies are exploring the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology to provide the security foundation for their Web services, electronic commerce applications, and other information technology needs. As they explore the technology through pilots and small-scale production use, users often want solutions built to standards, but standards supporting PKI technology are still emerging. At the same time, vendors are developing PKI products and Web services for today’s electronic commerce applications. It can be costly to update PKI solutions when standards change; yet new standards are developed to provide new functionality. New features in PKI standards can also create greater complexity, yet many commercial offerings still implement only basic functionality.
