What is Certificate Authority Service?
Certificate Authority Service is a highly available, scalable service from Google Cloud for creating and managing private certificate authorities. It enables automated issuance of TLS certificates for internal services, workloads, and devices.
Core Features
- Fully managed root and subordinate CAs
- HSM-backed key storage (FIPS 140-2 Level 3)
- Automatic certificate renewal and lifecycle management
- Integration with Certificate Manager and GKE
- RESTful API and Terraform support
Typical Use Cases
Service Mesh mTLS: Automatic issuance and rotation of certificates for Istio or Anthos Service Mesh to ensure secure service-to-service communication.
IoT Device Certificates: Scalable certificate issuance for millions of IoT devices with automatic renewal.
Zero-Trust Architectures: Foundation for identity-based access controls with client certificates.
Benefits
- No own PKI infrastructure required
- Scales automatically to millions of certificates
- Built-in audit logs and compliance reports
- Native integration with other Google Cloud services
Integration with innFactory
As a Google Cloud partner, innFactory supports you with Certificate Authority Service: architecture, migration, operations, and cost optimization.
Available Tiers & Options
DevOps
- Fast certificate issuance
- Ideal for short-lived certificates
- Limited hierarchy
Enterprise
- Complete CA hierarchy
- HSM support
- Compliance features
- Higher costs
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Certificate Authority Service?
A fully managed service for creating and managing private certificate authorities to issue TLS certificates within your organization.
When should I choose DevOps vs. Enterprise tier?
DevOps is suitable for short-lived certificates in CI/CD pipelines. Enterprise offers complete CA hierarchies with HSM protection for production environments.
How does the service integrate with GKE?
The service integrates seamlessly with GKE for mTLS between services, Istio service mesh, and automatic certificate renewal.
Which compliance standards are supported?
The service supports FIPS 140-2 Level 3 HSM, SOC 2, ISO 27001 and is suitable for regulated industries like financial services.
