Certificate Trust Lists (CTL)

A Certificate Trust List (CTL) is a curated list used by computers and security systems to identify which digital certificates are trusted for verifying identities online. Think of it as a security "whitelist" that contains trusted authorities (Certificate Authorities) whose certificates are accepted for secure communications, such as HTTPS websites or email encryption. By referencing the CTL, systems can ensure they only trust legitimate certificates, reducing the risk of trusting malicious or fake digital certificates. This helps maintain secure, reliable connections and protects users from potential cyber threats.