Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) — Question 57

What has been found to undermine the public key infrastructure system?

Answer options

• A. Man-in-the-middle attacks.
• B. Inability to track abandoned keys.
• C. Disreputable certificate authorities.
• D. Browsers missing a copy of the certificate authority's public key.

Correct answer: C

Explanation

The correct answer is C, as disreputable certificate authorities can issue fraudulent certificates, undermining trust in the entire PKI system. Options A, B, and D represent issues that can affect security but do not fundamentally undermine the trustworthiness of the PKI itself like disreputable authorities do.