Who Can Be a Certification Authority?
Certification authorities may include federal and state governmental entities, private persons or entities licensed to act as certification authorities by a state, and private persons or entities acting as certification authorities for commercial purposes. For example, the U.S. Postal Service has announced large-scale plans to offer services designed to facilitate electronic commerce, including functioning as an all-purpose certification authority. The USPS may be well suited to function as a certification authority: In transactions between companies or individuals, it is an objective third party with an established reputation for credibility. Through its nationwide network of post offices, the USPS can register public keys for applicants who appear in person. This will enable the USPS to provide an added level of security, such as photographs and fingerprinting, to ensure that each registered public key corresponds to a real person, not an alias or an assumed identity. The Los Angeles
