Identrust Technology Intelligence

What is IdenTrust?

IdenTrust is a Certificate Authority specializing in identity credentials and digital certificates for banking, government, and healthcare sectors. Founded in 1996, IdenTrust operates one of the most widely recognized trust networks, with their root certificates pre-installed in virtually all browsers and operating systems.

IdenTrust is perhaps best known as the cross-signing authority for Let's Encrypt, whose ISRG Root X1 was cross-signed by IdenTrust's DST Root CA X3 until 2021, enabling Let's Encrypt certificates to be trusted by older systems before their own root achieved ubiquitous trust.

The company focuses on high-trust identity solutions, including certificates for banking transactions (SWIFT network), healthcare (SAFE-BioPharma), and federal government (Federal PKI). Detection may indicate Let's Encrypt cross-signing or direct IdenTrust certificate usage.

IdenTrust Features

Trust Network: Pre-installed root CA. Universal browser trust. Legacy system support. Global recognition.

Identity Certificates: Personal identity. Business identity. Role-based. Hardware tokens.

Industry Solutions: Banking (TrustID). Healthcare (SAFE-BioPharma). Government (Federal PKI). Legal (Notary).

Cross-Certification: Bridge CA services. Trust path establishment. Interoperability. Legacy support.

Validation: Identity proofing. In-person verification. Document verification. Biometric options.

Compliance: Federal Bridge certified. WebTrust. SAFE-BioPharma accredited. Industry standards.

IdenTrust Use Cases

Banking: SWIFT network security. Financial transactions. Bank employee credentials. Secure messaging.

Healthcare: Prescription signing. Medical records. Healthcare provider identity. HIPAA compliance.

Government: Federal contractor access. Agency authentication. Document signing. PIV credentials.

Legal: Electronic notarization. Attorney credentials. Court filings. Legal document signing.

Cross-Signing: Let's Encrypt trust chain. New CA bootstrapping. Transition support. Legacy compatibility.

Enterprise: Employee credentials. Secure email. Document signing. Access control.

IdenTrust Code Examples

Certificate Chain (Let's Encrypt Cross-Sign)

# Historical Let's Encrypt chain via IdenTrust
Certificate chain:
 0: example.com (Let's Encrypt)
 1: R3 (Let's Encrypt Intermediate)
 2: ISRG Root X1 (Let's Encrypt Root)
    Cross-signed by: DST Root CA X3 (IdenTrust)

# Note: Since September 2021, Let's Encrypt uses its own root
# IdenTrust cross-signing was crucial for initial trust

Verify IdenTrust Certificate

# Check if certificate chains to IdenTrust
openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -showcerts 2>/dev/null | \
    openssl x509 -noout -issuer

# Verify cross-sign relationship
openssl verify -CAfile identrust-root.pem -untrusted intermediate.pem server.pem

# View certificate chain
openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 /dev/null | \
    grep -E "^(Certificate chain| [0-9] s:|   i:)"

Trust Store Update

# Add IdenTrust root to trust store (Linux)
cp DST_Root_CA_X3.pem /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/
update-ca-certificates

# Verify trust
openssl verify -CApath /etc/ssl/certs/ certificate.pem

IdenTrust Benefits

Universal Trust: Pre-installed everywhere. Legacy system support. Maximum compatibility. Global reach.

Industry Focus: Banking expertise. Healthcare compliance. Government certified. Legal recognition.

Identity Assurance: Strong identity proofing. In-person verification. Trusted credentials. High assurance.

Interoperability: Bridge CA services. Cross-certification. Trust path creation. Standards compliance.

Let's Encrypt Legacy: Enabled free SSL adoption. Bootstrap trust. Historical significance. Web security impact.

Compliance: Federal PKI bridge. WebTrust certified. Industry accreditations. Regulatory compliance.