The Risks Involved With Open and Closed Public Key Infrastructure

Over the past couple of decades, on-line communication, especially electronic mail and on-line shopping, has changed the way that people transfer sensitive information to and from each other. As long as these methods of communication will be used, there needs to be a way to keep this information secure. One solution to help us solve this problem is Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). There are two types of PKI models: open and closed. Each one has its advantages, but there is a certain level of risk and liability involved with each model. This paper will provide a basic overview of PKI and its components. It will then discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both the open and closed PKI models. Finally, this paper will present some of the risks and liability issues involved with PKI. In particular, it will discuss the enormous risks behind the open PKI model and why it never flourished in the marketplace.