Certificate Authority (CA)

An Enterprise Certificate Authority (CA) enables organizations to issue, manage, and revoke digital certificates across internal and external environments. When operating globally, enterprises must balance low‑latency certificate issuance with strict data‑residency and privacy mandates. eMudhra’s enterprise CA platform addresses these challenges through a combination of geo‑distributed architecture, policy‑driven issuance, and built‑in compliance controls.

1. Geo‑Distributed, Policy‑Driven CA Hierarchy

• Regional Sub‑CAs:
  eMudhra lets you spin up intermediate CAs in specific regions (EU, US, APAC, MEA) under a centralized root. Each sub‑CA issues certificates locally, minimizing latency and ensuring that private keys and associated metadata never leave the region.
• Automated Provisioning:
  Via RESTful APIs or the CLM portal, DevOps teams can deploy new regional CA nodes on demand. Templates embed region‑specific policies (e.g., key‑length, validity periods), guaranteeing that every certificate adheres to local norms without manual configuration.
• Data Residency Controls:
  Certificate enrollment and audit logs are stored in regionally compliant data stores. By tagging each CA and its issuance records with geo‑metadata, eMudhra ensures that sensitive personal data—such as signer identities or device details—remains within the mandated jurisdiction.

2. Built‑In GDPR Alignment

• Minimized Personal Data Collection:
  For client‑authentication and user DSCs, eMudhra collects only the data required by EU regulations. Administrators define which subject fields are mandatory, and all personal data in CSRs and audit logs is encrypted at rest.
• Right to Erasure & Portability:
  The CLM portal’s data‑export feature lets organizations extract all certificate‑related personal data for a given user—supporting GDPR’s data‑portability requirements. A secure “forget me” API call can anonymize or purge user records while preserving cryptographic audit trails.
• Consent Management:
  Before issuing e‑signature certificates (OV/EV), eMudhra’s workflows capture explicit EU‑compliant consent, logging timestamps and user acknowledgments to demonstrate lawful processing under Articles 6 and 7 of GDPR.

3. HIPAA‑Compliant Deployments

• Protected Health Information (PHI) Segmentation:
  In healthcare scenarios, patient or provider identities in certificate requests are stored in FIPS‑validated HSM partitions, with strict RBAC preventing unauthorized access. Audit logs capture every access event with HSM‑level granularity.
• Business Associate Agreements (BAAs):
  eMudhra offers BAAs to healthcare customers, contractually committing to HIPAA safeguards—encryption at rest and in transit, breach‑notification processes, and yearly risk assessments of the CA environment.
• Secure Audit Trails:
  All certificate‑issuance and revocation events are immutably logged. CLM’s tamper‑proof audit reports enable covered entities and their business associates to demonstrate compliance with HIPAA’s audit and reporting requirements.

4. Extending to Other Regional Mandates

• APAC Data‑Residency Laws:
  Deploy regional sub‑CAs to meet local regulations in Singapore (PDPA), Malaysia (PDPA), and India (Digital Personal Data Protection Act). Data storage and processing for certificate requests occur wholly within each territory.
• Middle East & GCC Trust Services:
  eMudhra supports regional electronic‑signature frameworks (e.g., UAE’s Trust Service Provider regulations) by issuing qualified certificates via locally hosted CA instances, ensuring full alignment with e‑governance standards.
• US FedRAMP & FIPS:
  For federal or defense customers, eMudhra’s CA can be deployed within FedRAMP‑authorized environments. HSMs maintain FIPS 140‑2 Level 3 security, and CA operations adhere to government‑mandated audit and vulnerability‑assessment schedules.

5. Unified Management & Automation

• Central CLM Dashboard:
  While CAs operate regionally, the CLM portal offers a single pane of glass—displaying certificate inventories, expiry alerts, and compliance reports across all regions. Role‑based access controls ensure that regional admins see only their CA scopes.
• Template‑Based Compliance:
  Pre‑built templates for GDPR, HIPAA, eIDAS, and other frameworks enforce required validation steps (e.g., consent capture, document checks) and cryptographic policies (e.g., algorithm restrictions).
• Automated Reporting & Alerts:
  Scheduled compliance reports—covering data‑residency attestations, audit‑log exports, and inventory snapshots—can be delivered to legal or security teams, ensuring continuous oversight without manual effort.

Business Benefits

• Reduced Latency: Local issuance cuts round‑trip times, essential for low‑latency services and IoT provisioning.
• Regulatory Assurance: Automated enforcement of regional policies minimizes risk of non‑compliance fines.
• Operational Agility: On‑demand regional CA deployments allow rapid market expansion without PKI redesign.
• Cost Efficiency: Centralized management reduces overhead—eliminating the need for separate PKI teams in each geography.

By combining geo‑fenced sub‑CAs, policy‑driven templates, and centralized CLM orchestration, eMudhra’s Enterprise Certificate Authority empowers organizations to expand globally—seamlessly issuing secure, compliant certificates in every region they operate.