Method and apparatus for using host authentication for automated public key certification

A method and apparatus for creating a digital certificate for a subject in an information handling system in which users of a host system authenticate themselves to the host system by presenting a host user ID and a host password. The host system has a host authentication system associated with it for automatically authenticating users to the host system using the host authentication information. Upon receiving a certification request from a subject, a certificate authority determines whether the certification request is for a general user certificate or for a host user certificate. If the certification request is for a general user certificate, the certificate authority places the request in a queue for processing by a human administrator. If the certification request is for a host user certificate, the certificate authority obtains a host user ID and password from the requester and authenticates the requester by presenting this host authentication information to the host authentication system. The host authentication system authenticates the requester by comparing the password presented by the requester with the password stored in the record of the host user registry corresponding to the user ID presented by the requester. If the requester is authenticated by the host authentication system as being a host user, the certificate authority creates a host user certificate for the requester. The host user certificate assigns to the requester a common name that is the obtained from the host user registry rather than from the requester.