An organization decides to implement a partial Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) with only the servers having digital certificates. What is the…

In a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) where only servers possess digital certificates, the primary security benefit is one-way authentication. The server presents its certificate to the client during the initial connection (e.g., a TLS handshake). The client can then verify the certificate's authenticity by checking its digital signature against the public key of a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). This process confirms the server's identity to the client, ensuring the client is connecting to the legitimate server and not an impostor, thereby preventing man-in-the-middle attacks. This is the standard model for most secure web traffic (HTTPS).

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-32

Introduction to Public Key Technology and the Federal PKI Infrastructure. Section 2.1.2

"Authentication

" explains that a certificate binds a public key to an identity

allowing the holder of the corresponding private key (the server

in this case) to be authenticated. The document clarifies that this is a fundamental service of PKI.

2. Stallings

W. (2017). Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practice (7th ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 16

"Network Security

" the section on Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) describes the standard handshake protocol. It states

"The server sends its certificate... The client can then verify that the server is legitimate." This describes server-only authentication.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare

6.857 Computer and Network Security

Fall 2014. Lecture 12 notes on "Web Security & TLS" describe the standard TLS handshake where the server sends its certificate to the client. The notes explicitly state this step is for "Server authentication" and contrast it with optional "Client authentication

" which would require the client to also have a certificate.

4. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFC 5246

The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2. Section 7.4.2

"Server Certificate

" specifies that the server must send a certificate message to the client. The purpose is for the client to validate the server's identity. The protocol defines a separate

optional "Client Certificate" message for client authentication.