Overview of DFN`s Certificate Services - Regular, Grid and Short-Lived -

Marcus Pattloch
DFN Verein

More and more users need certificates in their everyday work - though
sometimes they don't exactly know, what they are good for. Some users
even complain that certificates make everything just more complicated.

On the other hand certificates are an extremely useful tool to increase
security in various environments, from encrypting documents and realizing
single sign-on to granting access to world-wide grid environments.

The talk will elaborate on the following questions:

- What are certificates and what can they be used for?
- What can / should certificates NOT be used for?
- Why do we have grid certificates in addition to the well-established
regular certificates?
- Do short-lived credentials (SLCS) make dealing with certificates easier?
- How can a user get a (regular / grid / short-lived) certificate?