Abstract: A method of providing a digital certificate authenticating the identity of a user of an endpoint device and over an open network is provided. The method comprises establishing a secure connection with the endpoint device. A digital certificate request is received from the endpoint device over the secure connection. The digital certificate request comprises an indication of the identity of the user of the endpoint device and a public encryption key. A validation parameter associated with the user is obtained from a trusted database. Instructions to provide verification data are sent to the endpoint device and verification data is received back from the endpoint device and validated. A signed digital certificate is provided to the endpoint device over the secure connection only if the verification data correlates to the validation parameter.