Which of the following defines the role of a root Certificate Authority (CA) in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)?

Question

Options

• AThe root CA is the recovery agent used to encrypt data when a user's certificate is lost.
• BThe root CA stores the user's hash value for safekeeping.
• CThe CA is the trusted root that issues certificates.
• DThe root CA is used to encrypt email messages to prevent unintended disclosure of data.

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  7% (2)
• C
  90% (26)

Explanation

In a PKI hierarchy, the root CA sits at the top of the trust chain and is the ultimate trust anchor. Its primary role is to issue and digitally sign certificates - typically for subordinate (intermediate) CAs, which in turn issue end-entity certificates to users and devices. Because the root CA's certificate is self-signed and pre-installed as trusted in operating systems and browsers, any certificate it (or its subordinates) issues is automatically trusted. Option A describes a Key Recovery Agent, which is a separate PKI role. Option B is incorrect - the root CA does not store password hashes; that is unrelated to PKI. Option D incorrectly conflates the root CA with email encryption, which is performed using end-entity certificates, not the root CA itself.

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