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350-701 · Question #725

What is the purpose of CA in a PKI?

The correct answer is B. to issue and revoke digital certificates. The Certificate Authority (CA) in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is primarily responsible for the lifecycle management of digital certificates.

Submitted by ahmad_uae· Mar 30, 2026Security Concepts

Question

What is the purpose of CA in a PKI?

Options

  • Ato generate a pkcs12 certificate from certificate key-pair
  • Bto issue and revoke digital certificates
  • Cto certify the ownership of a public key by the named subject
  • Dto create the private key for a digital certificate

How the community answered

(42 responses)
  • A
    2% (1)
  • B
    90% (38)
  • C
    5% (2)
  • D
    2% (1)

Why each option

The Certificate Authority (CA) in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is primarily responsible for the lifecycle management of digital certificates.

Ato generate a pkcs12 certificate from certificate key-pair

Generating a PKCS#12 certificate from a key-pair is typically performed by the end-user or a utility, not the CA's core function in the PKI.

Bto issue and revoke digital certificatesCorrect

A Certificate Authority's primary role is to issue digital certificates after verifying the identity of the applicant and to revoke certificates that are no longer valid or have been compromised. This ensures the trustworthiness of public keys and maintains the integrity of the PKI system.

Cto certify the ownership of a public key by the named subject

While certifying public key ownership is part of the CA's function, its overall purpose encompasses the broader management of certificate issuance and revocation.

Dto create the private key for a digital certificate

The private key for a digital certificate is generally created by the subject requesting the certificate, and never by the Certificate Authority itself.

Concept tested: PKI Certificate Authority roles

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/identity/ad-cs/certificate-authorities

Topics

#PKI#Certificate Authority#Digital Certificates

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