Course Description

PKI Fundamentals with Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) is an introductory course designed to equip IT professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to implement and manage a robust public key infrastructure (PKI) using AD CS.

This six-part live training program designed to help IT professionals build and manage a secure public key infrastructure (PKI). Participants will learn to deploy certificate authorities, configure and manage certificate templates, implement certificate revocation, and apply security best practices for ongoing PKI operations. By completing this course, teams will gain the practical expertise required to support secure authentication, encryption, and digital signing across enterprise environments.

Note: If you already have an All Access Pass subscription, this course has been added to your account.

This LIVE Online Training runs for six weeks and includes:

  • Six weekly live webinars (with recordings and Q&A)
  • A community of individuals with the same goals
  • A private Facebook group with other participants for sharing reflections, progress, etc.
  • The chance to ask Richard Hicks questions directly in a live training environment


This LIVE Online Training is for YOU if you want to:

  • Understand how digital certificates support authentication, encryption, and digital signing
  • Design and deploy certificate authorities in secure enterprise environments
  • Configure and manage certificate templates, enrollment, and revocation
  • Apply security best practices and perform ongoing maintenance of a PKI infrastructure

...and so much more!


If you can't attend the live event, the webinar will be recorded and available within 24 hours of the broadcast.


Prerequisites:
Participants should have prior experience with Windows server administration, including Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS and name resolution. A basic understanding of cryptography is also recommended.

Course Schedule

Date and Time for Live Webinars

Dates and start time for the live two-hour webinars:

  • Module 1: Thursday, January 15, 3:00-5:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) 
  • Module 2: Thursday, January 22, 3:00-5:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
  • Module 3: Thursday, January 29, 3:00-5:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
  • Module 4: Thursday, February 5, 3:00-5:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
  • Module 5: Thursday, February 12, 3:00-5:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
  • Module 6: Thursday, February 19, 3:00-5:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)


Course Outline

Module 1 – Overview of AD CS and Certificates

  • What Are Certificates?
  • Common Use Cases
  • Infrastructure Components
  • PKI Hierarchy Models


Module 2 – Certificate Authorities

  • Preparing for CA Deployment
  • Deploying an Offline Root CA
  • Deploying an Online Issuing CA
  • Post-Installation Configuration


Module 3 – Certificate Templates

  • Creating and Deploying Certificate Templates
  • Certificate Template Best Practices
  • Manual Enrollment
  • Automatic Enrollment


Module 4 – Certificate Revocation

  • Certificate Revocation Lists (CRL)
  • CRL Publication Strategies
  • Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
  • Revocation Best Practices


Module 5 – Security Considerations

  • Delegated Administration
  • Role Separation
  • Common Misconfiguration
  • Review and Assessment Tools


Module 6 – Ongoing Maintenance and Operational Support

  • Backing Up the CA Database
  • Performing CA Database Maintenance
  • CA Database Cleanup
  • Configuration and Key Archival

Instructor

Richard Hicks

Richard Hicks is the founder and principal consultant at Richard M. Hicks Consulting, Inc. He is a widely recognized enterprise mobility expert with more than 25 years of experience implementing secure remote access and public key infrastructure (PKI) solutions for organizations worldwide. He understands that providing visibility, control, and assurance for field-based devices is vital to ensuring the highest level of security and productivity for today’s highly mobile workforce.

Richard Hicks

President and Principal Consultant