Bridge Certification Authorities: Connecting B2B Public Key Infrastructures

Businesses are deploying Public Key Infrastructures (PKIs) to support internal business processes, implement virtual private networks, and secure corporate assets. In addition, most businesses have industrial partnerships with other businesses for economic reasons. If these industrial alliances wish to exploit their internal security capabilities for businessto-business (B2B) electronic commerce applications, connection of their corporate PKIs will be required. However, corporate PKIs may implement different architectures, security policies, and cryptographic suites. A flexible mechanism is needed to link these corporate PKIs and translate these corporate relationships into the electronic world.