Public Key Infrastructures: A Panacea Solution?

Over the last 18 months or so, a great deal has been written about Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology in security magazines. Most vendors (and some consultants) will have you believe that these days almost every kind of enterprise will need a PKI for something. While PKI is undoubtedly a valuable new technology with many benefits, there are also several issues and pitfalls associated with it. These, unfortunately, are often understated. The aim of this article is to provide you with an overview of things that need to be resolved before PKI technology will become truly ubiquitous and transparent. It will also go into some of the fundamental questions you must ask yourself before embarking on a (costly) PKI project, as well as discuss different ways in which the technology can be deployed.