Computing security exam question - Essay Example

PKI provides a powerful and robust environment to ensure security of consumer interests, transactions, and information. Stephen Wilson states that “It is well known that PKI’s successes have mostly been in closed schemes”. This paper will seek to assess and analyze the effectiveness of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a schema that provides high level of security and confidentiality for Internet users that seek to engage in online transactions and e-commerce.

It enables information and monetary transactions to be conducted in a safe and secure manner. A digital certificate is issued in order to recognize individuals and organizations. PKI utilizes public and private keys over the Internet in order to ensure high levels of authentication and privacy. The Internet presents valuable business opportunities for individuals and organization, but it also causes safety and veracity problems (Carlisle, 1999). PKI helps to provide supplementary levels of safety and veracity for online business transactions and e-commerce.

The rapid growth of the Internet pushed the need for high levels of trust, confidentiality, and security. Several companies began to design security algorithms and protocols in order to ensure safe and secure transactions. Netscape designed the SSL protocol which allowed the use of digital certificates and security algorithms for safe business transactions over the Internet. PKI was dubbed to the ultimate security protocol and mechanism in the 1990s. A number of vendors began to operate in the environment seeking to create standards and procedures.

However the hype over PKI was over by the start of the twenty first century as vendors began to register technical and operational problems over its implementation. The rapid proliferation of the Internet during the 1990s also raised concern about conviction and