Certificates
Digital certificates are a means whereby an entity has a public-private key pair, and registers the public key with a Certificate Authority. The infrastructure required for a public key system is referred to as a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), of which the third-party Certificate Authority is a part. The Certificate Authority issues a certificate, containing information about the entity and the entity’s public key, and signs it.
To provide authentication of identity, the authentication system challenges the entity in a similar manner to the challenge-response protocol. The entity signs the challenge using its private key, and the system verifies this signature by using the entity’s public key.
Further information concerning security certificates can be found in TIBCO Hawk Installation, Configuration, and Administration Guide.