The DutchGrid and NIKHEF medium-security certification authority certification policy and practice statement, version 2.2is a statement of practices, which the DutchGrid medium-security CA employs in issuing public-key certificates.
A public-key certificate (hereinafter "certificate") binds a public-key value to a set of information that identifies the entity (such as person, organisation, account, or site) associated with use of the corresponding private key (this entity is known as the "subject" of the certificate). A certificate is used by a "certificate user" or "relying party" that needs to use, and rely upon the accuracy of, the public key distributed via that certificate. A certificate user is typically an entity that is verifying a digital signature from the certificate's subject or an entity sending encrypted data to the subject.
The degree to which a certificate user can trust the binding embodied in a certificate depends on several factors. These factors include the practices followed by the certification authority (CA) in authenticating the subject; the CAs operating policy, procedures, and security controls; the subject's obligations (for example, in protecting the private key); and the stated undertakings and legal obligations of the CA (for example, warranties and limitations on liability).