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Public Key Certificate

nounverified·updated May 9, 2026

A digital document issued and digitally signed by the private key of a Certificate authority that binds the name of a Subscriber to a public key. The certificate indicates that the Subscriber identified in the certificate has sole control and access to the private key.

polysemousMWENISTIR 7298: Glossary of Key Information Security Terms, Revision 2

Senses

NISTIR 7298: Glossary of Key Information Security Terms, Revision 2sense 2 pending review

A set of data that unambiguously identifies an entity, contains the entity's public key, and is digitally signed by a trusted third party (certification authority).

NISTIR 7298: Glossary of Key Information Security Terms, Revision 2sense 3 pending review

A set of data that uniquely identifies an entity, contains the entity’s public key, and is digitally signed by a trusted party, thereby binding the public key to the entity.

Classifications

Entity Type

Credential90%rule-basedr:entity.credential.cert.v1
?unassignedlast reviewed

Sensitivity

unclassified

Information Class

unclassified

Variants

plural
Public Key Certificates
possessive
Public Key Certificate's
pluralpossessive
Public Key Certificates'