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self-signed certificate
A digital certificate signed by its own key rather than by a trusted authority.
A certificate normally gains trust because a recognized Certificate Authority vouches for it. A self-signed certificate vouches only for itself, so it proves the holder controls the key but not that they are who they claim. It is fine for testing or internal use, but should never be trusted automatically just because it exists.
See also
- RSAA classic public-key cryptography system where a public key encrypts or verifies and a separate private key decrypts or signs.
- security auditA careful review of a system by experts specifically looking for security weaknesses.