Leader in digital trust to manage dedicated PKI root certificate infrastructure, enhancing security and interoperability for financial institutions around the world
Lehi, Utah, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DigiCert, a leading global provider of digital trust, today announced its selection by the American Standards Committee X9 (ASC X9) to manage a new Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) tailored for the financial services industry. This decision was made by an independent ASC X9 committee following a rigorous selection process, underscoring DigiCert’s leadership and expertise in PKI solutions.
ASC X9 is an ANSI-accredited standards organization dedicated to advancing interoperability and security within the financial services sector. Since joining X9 in 2018, DigiCert has been instrumental in leading a PKI Study Group to identify and address the specific needs of the financial community. With more than 30 potential PKI use cases identified and a comprehensive certificate policy developed, DigiCert and its partner, EONTI, are now set to implement a service that enables secure, interoperable communication for financial institutions globally.
“Our goal is to create a robust, interoperable infrastructure with the X9 root certificate that financial services organizations can rely on for secure communication,” said Lakshmi Hanspal, Chief Trust Officer at DigiCert. “This initiative provides financial institutions with a trusted and independent PKI that is tailored to their unique use cases, ensuring they can communicate seamlessly and securely with each other. The X9 PKI is a significant step toward transforming security and interoperability in the financial services sector. By offering a dedicated, secure, and scalable PKI, DigiCert and X9 aim to set a new standard for trust and collaboration across the industry.”
The financial sector’s historical usage of browser-managed certificates for scenarios beyond web servers continues to present challenges, as evidenced during the industry’s transition from SHA-1 to SHA-2 hashing algorithms. During this transition, payment terminals faced interoperability issues when browsers ceased support for SHA-1 certificates, leaving many financial institutions struggling to adapt. By moving to a new and independent PKI, browsers and banks can each define their own PKIs in accordance with their specific trust and business needs.
The X9 public key infrastructure, operated by DigiCert, offers a dedicated PKI for the financial services industry, enabling secure communication without dependence on browser-based certificates. This infrastructure aims to avoid similar disruptions in the future while providing the flexibility and control financial institutions need.
Key Benefits of the X9 Root Certificate PKI
- Independence from Browser-Controlled PKI: Financial institutions gain control over their PKI without relying on certificates issued for browser use.
- Interoperability: Enables secure communication across financial institutions, including banks, ATM manufacturers, and other stakeholders, using a common root and policy.
- Security: The X9 Financial PKI offers legacy algorithms for backwards compatibility and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) for transitioning to the next generation of algorithms.
- Scalability: The infrastructure allows for cross-certification with the X9 root, ensuring that organizations with existing PKIs can integrate seamlessly.
- Global Adoption: While led by U.S.-based X9, this PKI is designed to attract financial companies worldwide.
“The financial services industry requires a secure and reliable infrastructure to meet its unique challenges,” said X9 Executive Director, Steve Stevens. “DigiCert’s expertise and proven leadership in PKI make the company the ideal partner to establish a dedicated root certificate and PKI for the financial sector. This initiative is a major step forward in enabling seamless and secure communication across institutions worldwide.”
To execute the project, DigiCert is partnering with EONTI, a recognized leader in PKI design and deployment. EONTI was instrumental in last year’s selection of the “root of trust” for the Electric Vehicle charging industry, and their expertise will be invaluable in building the X9 root certificate infrastructure.
Additional Resources:
- Read the blog on ASC X9 and DigiCert
- Register for the April 2nd webinar: Introducing X9 PKI: A Managed Private PKI for Financial Services
About DigiCert
DigiCert is a leading global provider of digital trust, enabling individuals and businesses to engage online with the confidence that their footprint in the digital world is secure. DigiCert® ONE, the platform for digital trust, provides organizations with centralized visibility and control over a broad range of public and private trust needs, securing websites, enterprise access and communication, software, identity, content and devices. DigiCert pairs its award-winning software with its industry leadership in standards, support and operations, and is the digital trust provider of choice for leading companies around the world. For more information, visit www.digicert.com or follow on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/digicert-inc-/.
About ASC X9
The Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. is a non-profit organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop and maintain national and – through ISO — international standards for the financial services industry. The subjects of X9’s standards include: retail, mobile and business payments; corporate treasury functions; block chain technology; processing of electronic legal orders issued to financial institutions; tracking of financial transactions and instruments; financial transaction messaging (ISO 8583 and 20022); quantum computing; AI, PKI; checks; cloud; data breach notification and more.
X9 acts as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for ISO TC68 (Financial) and TC321 (E-Commerce) and performs the secretariat functions for ISO TC68. Please visit our website (www.x9.org) for more information.
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CONTACT: Christina Knittel DigiCert 775-209-2461 christina.knittel@digicert.com
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