For an e-commerce company seeking organizational validation of their certificate, which level of CA validation should be recommended?

For an e-commerce company looking for organizational validation of their certificate, recommending organization validation is the most suitable choice. Organization validation requires the certificate authority (CA) to conduct thorough checks to verify the legitimacy of the business. This process typically includes confirming the company's legal existence, associated domain ownership, and operational presence.

This level of validation not only increases security for the e-commerce platform but also fosters customer trust. Consumers are more likely to engage with and share sensitive information, such as payment details, with a site that uses certificates that demonstrate validation of the organization's identity.

In contrast, self-signed certificates do not provide any assurance regarding the identity of the organization and could lead to security risks. Domain validation only verifies that the applicant has control over the domain but lacks scrutiny into the organization itself, which might not be sufficient for an e-commerce scenario. Extended validation, while offering the highest level of trust with the presentation of the business's name prominently in the browser's address bar, may be more than what is necessary for many organizations, including smaller e-commerce businesses that may not require the additional verification steps and costs associated with this level. Therefore, organization validation is the optimal recommendation in this scenario, striking a balance between credibility and practicality for e-commerce operations.