Certification authority refers to the system used to generate and create digital certificates. Without this type of system in place, you are not able to generate or create your own digital certificates. The reason you would want such a system, is when you want to limit access to a specific set of users and prevent unauthorized access. There are different methods available for requesting and distributing digital certificates to your employees.
A Certification Authority System Can Create Certificates with Private and Public Keys
When a user requires a digital certificate, you will use your certification authority system. There are two types of certificates which can be generated and which contain different information. One type of digital certificate will contain a private key. This certificate should be distributed to the person who initially requested the certificate. The other type of certificate generated will contain a public key. This type of digital certificate should be distributed to any users who will need to decrypt information sent by the user holding the private key.