One embodiment of the present invention is a hybrid authentication system (10) for securing communication. In this embodiment, the system (10) includes a distributed authentication infrastructure (12) with a series of nodes (16) in communication with each other. These nodes (16) are intended to perform a series of functions, one of these functions being the authentication of other nodes. The system further includes a centralized authentication infrastructure (14), which is later integrated into the distributed authentication infrastructure (12) after the distributed authentication infrastructure (12) has been established. The centralized authentication infrastructure (14) includes a central server (22) coupled to the nodes (16) for verifying the identification of the nodes (16) and/or granting permission to those nodes (16).