In Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), PKIs are used to authenticate the identities of communicating parties and establish secure, encrypted connections over public networks. This is particularly important for protecting sensitive corporate data when employees remotely access company resources, for example when working from home.
Digital certificates can also be used to secure connections between company locations. Certificate-based authentication can additionally improve scalability because certificates can be centrally managed and distributed even as the number of users or devices grows.