Services or capabilities described in Amazon Web Services documentation might vary by Region. To see the differences applicable to the China Regions,
see Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China
(PDF).
Authentication
Authentication is a mechanism where you verify the identity of a client or a server.
Server authentication is the process where devices or other clients ensure they are
communicating with an actual Amazon IoT endpoint. Client authentication is the process where
devices or other clients authenticate themselves with Amazon IoT.
X.509 Certificate overview
X.509 certificates are digital certificates that use the X.509 public key infrastructure
standard to associate a public key with an identity contained in a
certificate. X.509 certificates are issued by a trusted entity called a certification
authority (CA). The CA maintains one or more special certificates called CA certificates
that it uses to issue X.509 certificates. Only the certification authority has access to
CA certificates. X.509 certificate chains are used both for server authentication by
clients and client authentication by the server.