The Certificate Management System (CMS) is a networked system for generation, distribution, storage and verification of certificates for use in a variety of security enhanced applications. The structure of a certificate is defined in the X.509 standard. The Internet PEM specification describes the structure and functionality of a global certification hierarchy, as well as the structure of its internal messages. The approach described in this paper specifies new roles and responsibilities for certification authorities. By extending the existing specifications with functions for the storage and retrieval of certificates, the CMS becomes functionally complete and immediately operable. Furthermore, it can operate either as an autonomous hierarchy, or integrated into a global system. >
['Nada Kapidzic', 'Alan G. Davidson']
A Certificate Management System: structure, functions and protocols