PKI: Standards, Browser Implementation, Security, and Attack Scenarios

This discussion post provides an overview of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), exploring its standards, browser implementations, and security aspects. The post examines key standards like X.509 and discusses how browsers utilize Certificate Authorities to authenticate users. It also covers the security of PKI implementations, including access control and data integrity, while also looking at a real-life scenario of breaking PKI within commonly used browsers, specifically focusing on certificate revocation and OCSP failures in Firefox. The conclusion highlights the importance of PKI in protecting confidential information and suggests areas for improvement, such as multi-factor authentication. The document is intended to provide a comprehensive understanding of PKI and its practical implications.