As digital assets become even more interconnected with each other, the need to make sure that any information and data that is transmitted to and through them are difficult to intercept by the Cyberattacker.

One area that is being used quite heavily in this regard is known as Encryption and is a branch of Cryptography.  This is where that information and data is scrambled into a meaningless state, so that if it were to be heisted, there is nothing that can be done with it.  The only way that it can be rendered back into a meaningful state so that it can be decipherable is using the Private Key.  PKI is becoming a more important security configuration now that Microsoft has added PKI license options for organizations that use Microsoft Intune.

What Is The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)?

PKI can be technically defined as follows:

“Public key infrastructure (PKI) is a comprehensive framework for assigning, identifying and verifying user identity through digital certificates used for enabling trustworthy and secure digital communications.”

(SOURCE:  1).

In other words, it is the infrastructure that hosts the Public and Private Keys for encrypting and decrypting all the information and data, and all the processes and components that go with, as stated in the above definition.  The primary goal of the PKI is to support these three key objectives:

  • Confidentiality:

This provides the highest level of assurances that all the information and data in the PKI is completely Encrypted, and nothing is sent as Cleartext (also known as “Plaintext”).

  • Integrity:

This provides the mechanisms that are needed to make sure that the information and data that is transmitted throughout the PKI has not been compromised in any way.  It also ensures that it would be quickly detectable if there is any such tampering.  One of the most widely used techniques is that of the Hashing Algorithm.

  • Authenticity:

This concept guarantees that the parties that are involved with the sending and receiving of the Encrypted information and data are authentic and genuine, and none of them are impostors.

The above is also known as the CIA Triad, and it is illustrated below:

 

The Components of the PKI

The specific components of the PKI are as follows:

  • The Certificate Authority:

This is also known as the CA.  It issues and assigns all the Digital Certificates that are used from within the PKI.

  • The Registration Authority:

This is also known as the RA.  It confirms the identity of both the sending and receiving parties, either through use of Two Factor Authentication (2FA) or Multifactor Authentication (MFA).

  • The Certificate Database:

This is a centralized repository that stores all the Digital Certificates after they have been issued and processed.  It is possible that the same Digital Certificate can be used again, with some minor tweaks being made to it so that it will be unique for subsequent usage.

  • The Central Directory:

This is where all the Public and Private Keys that are used within the PKI Infrastructure are stored. It also contains the Metadata that is associated with them as well.

  • The Certificate Management System:

This is the component that manages and oversees both the Certificate Authority and Registration Authority.

  • The Certificate Policy:

These are the policies that detail the operations and processes of the PKI Infrastructure.

Applications Of The PKI

The PKI can serve a wide variety of applications, where the Encryption of data and information is of the utmost importance.  Examples of this include the following:

  • Email security and authentication.
  • The e-signing of documents.
  • Securing the network lines of communications, especially where web applications are concerned.
  • Providing extra layers of security for electronic transactions, such as those of online stores.
  • Adding more protection for Virtual Private Networks (also known as VPNs).
  • Securing interconnected Internet of Things (also known as the IoT) devices, especially those used in Smart Homes.

Conclusions

Deploying a PKI Infrastructure for your business with Microsoft Intune brings certain, strategic benefits, which are as follows:

  • Authentication:

By making use of a combination of Encryption, Digital Certificates, 2FA and MFA, the entity can be assured of the highest levels of authentication for the end users that are trying to access the shared resources.

  • Leakages:

The use of a PKI Infrastructure also further mitigates the risk of Data Leakages occurring, which is a huge Cybersecurity Threat today.

  • Scalability:

A PKI Infrastructure can be easily customized and scaled up or down within a matter of a few minutes, if you use an environment like Microsoft Office 365 with Intune.

If you are interested in deploying this for your business, please contact us today.

Sources