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Certificate Lifecycle

Encryption

Key Rotation Certificate Authority (CA) Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Revocation

How certificates are issued, renewed, rotated, and revoked over time.

Definition

Certificate lifecycle is the “life story” of a certificate: issuing it, using it, renewing it, and replacing it safely.

In plain English How certificates are issued, renewed, rotated, and revoked over time.

Why this matters

Why it matters: Expired or mismanaged certificates can break security and lead to unsafe workarounds.

Example

Example: A team automates renewal so HTTPS never expires.