Final answer:
The Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) provides information about the status of digital certificates, allowing clients to check whether a certificate has been revoked or is still valid in real-time.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) provides information about the status of digital certificates. It is used to check whether a particular certificate has been revoked or is still valid. OCSP provides real-time responses about the revocation status of certificates, allowing clients to make informed security decisions.
For example, if a website uses OCSP for certificate validation, when a user visits the website, their browser will send a request to the Certificate Authority's OCSP responder to check if the website's certificate is still valid. If the certificate has been revoked, the browser will display a warning to the user, indicating potential security risks.