During the process of enhancing the security of your company's e-commerce platform, you are tasked to obtain a digital certificate for encrypting web traffic. Considering the critical nature of the data being protected, what aspect should be a top priority when choosing an entity to issue and manage the necessary digital certificates?
Proximity of the entity's operations to your data center
Past security incidents involving the entity
The overall trust and reliability of the issuing entity
The pricing model of the entity for certificate issuance