Support for Key Pair Authentication

Currently, PI ICU authentication relies on traditional username/password methods. However, this authentication approach is becoming increasingly obsolete and is not supported by many of the modern platforms and security frameworks we are required to connect to.

Industry direction is moving firmly toward key-pair (public/private) authentication, which provides stronger security, reduces credential management overhead, and aligns with standard enterprise practices for secure integration. Without this capability, PI ICU becomes harder to integrate with contemporary systems and forces engineering teams to maintain less secure workarounds that add unnecessary risk.

Suggestion:
Enable support for key-pair authentication in PI ICU, ensuring compatibility with modern security standards and the external platforms we need to connect to. This would improve security posture, reduce administrative burden, and extend the usability of PI ICU within current and future environments.