What does OCSP stand for in digital certificate management?

The correct answer is Online Certificate Status Protocol. OCSP is a protocol used for obtaining the revocation status of a digital certificate in real-time. It allows clients to check whether a certificate is still valid or has been revoked by the Certificate Authority (CA) without needing to download and process a Certificate Revocation List (CRL), which can be large and cumbersome. This immediate query helps maintain the integrity and security of communications that rely on the validity of digital certificates, ensuring that users can quickly confirm whether the certificate they are dealing with is trustworthy.

In the context of digital certificate management, OCSP plays a crucial role in facilitating secure transactions and communications by providing timely information about certificate validity. This protocol supports the ongoing monitoring of certificate statuses and is essential for maintaining a robust security posture in systems relying on PKI.