Certificate authorities (CAs) have given themselves a black eye lately, making it hard for users to trust them. Google stopped trusting Symantec after discovering the CA had mis-issued thousands of certificates over several years, and researchers found that phishing sites were using PayPal-labeled certificates issued by Linux Foundation’s Let’s Encrypt CA. Even with these missteps, the CAs play a critical role in establishing trust on the internet.
CAs issue different types of certificates, and each type addresses a different internet security use case. Here’s what you need to understand about certificates and online trust, so you know what is happening behind HTTPS—especially now that free CAs have made it so easy to get certificates.
