Introduction

Digi-CA™ is the complete CA system for organisations that would like to have their own CA or would like to own and manage a Public Key Infrastructure [PKI] for digital certificates, inside the organisation, or over the Internet. Digi-CA™ generates and manages digital public key certificates that are used for a variety of different purposes, most commonly for secure server connection [1], electronic signatures, natural person and/or device authentication and for secure email.

The Digi-CA™ system can create multiple instances of independent CAs in a single Digi-CA™ system deployment. The Digi-CA™ model imposes delegation of trust downwards from Root CAs to their Subordinate CAs using a concept called ‘layered hierarchy’. The same Digi-CA™ system also enables a CA to be cross signed by an external third party CA. As a result of this design principal, the Digi-CA™ model for trust levels increases towards the highest authority. This type of arrangement facilitates easy deployment and scalability of any PKI requirement from the smallest to the largest.

Digi-CA™ can be delivered as an installed Software CA, or as a Managed CA service [2]. Uniquely, both the Managed Digi-CA™ Service and the installed Digi-CA™ Server software [3] use the same common, core technology. This is important because in selecting Digi-CA™ it is possible to begin with Digi-CA™ Service and migrate to Digi-CA™ Server with ease.

It is possible to use the distributed architectural design of Digi-CA™ to implement the concept of a ‘Shared CA’ where different modules of the system are hosted and managed in separate geographical locations.