Public-Key Certificate (SAP Library

Public-Key Certificate

Definition

A digital document that acts as a user's digital identification card.

The public-key certificate (also known as an X.509 client certificate) is based on the X.509 format, which is an Internet standard developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). For more information, see the ITU at http://www.itu.int.

Use

Public-key certificates contain the public part of a user's public-key information and are used for authentication purposes and for verifying digital signatures. A Certification Authority (CA) guarantees the certificate owner's identity and approves or issues the certificate to the user.

Specifically, you use public-key certificates as follows:

You use your own certificate to identify yourself to others.

You use someone else's certificate to verify his or her digital signatures.

You can use a certificate to encrypt a message meant for the certificate's owner.

For more information, see Public-Key Technology.