To mitigate the effects of a weak random number generator (RNG) in a public key cryptosystem, a public key obtained from the RNG is encrypted using a deterministic cryptographic scheme before being made publicly available. A trusted party receiving the encrypted public key can recover the public key and combine it with other information so it is not subject to direct scrutiny. In one embodiment, the trusted party incorporates the public key in a certificate, such as an implicit certificate, for use by the correspondents in other communications.