SSL digital certificates play a crucial role in securing and keeping data confidential in today’s digital world.
They ensure the authenticity of the servers, protect the integrity of communications, and encrypt the information exchanged between the parties.
However, many companies still face problems related to certificate expiration, which can negatively affect business. This shows that its management is still a challenge for many organizations.
Consequences of expiration of certificates SSL certificates for operations operations of operations of companies
The expiration of SSL certificates can lead to a number of significant problems that directly affect an organization’s security, compliance, and reputation.
According to Keyfactor, in its “State of Machine Identity Management” report, the frequency with which companies face certificate-related outages and the impact they have on their business are high.
- 88% of companies continue to face unplanned outages due to expired SSLs.
- On average, they have experienced more than 3 certificate interruptions in the last two years.
- 40% of respondents say that their organization has a high probability of experiencing more interruptions.
- 59% of respondents say they are concerned about the increased risk of outages due to the shorter lifetime of SSL/TLS.
Understanding the implications of these scenarios can help companies take proactive steps to prevent the occurrence of expired certificates and their consequences.
Service interruption
The expiration of a digital certificate can lead to disruption of services, affecting the availability of applications and websites.
When a certificate expires, modern browsers and clients often block access to the protected resource by displaying a security error message.
This can result in a loss of customer confidence and a deterioration of the brand’s reputation.
A popular e-commerce site, for example, has a certificate that expires on a busy weekend. As a result, customers trying to access the site are faced with security error messages and are unable to complete their purchases.
This leads to substantial revenue losses and a deterioration of customer confidence in the brand.
Security Vulnerabilities
Expired certificates can also expose organizations to security vulnerabilities.
When a certificate is no longer valid, encrypted traffic becomes susceptible to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks; by making use of an expired certificate the attacker intercepts and potentially alters communications between parties.
Google has even launched an initiative to make SSL certificates expire every 90 days, to improve the security of servers that use SSL certificates. Google is so committed to this change that they are willing to guarantee that Chrome will only validate certificates issued in the last 90 days, click here to see more.
Regulatory compliance and penalties
Failure to renew SSLs can lead to non-compliance with industry security standards and regulations, such as LGPD/GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.
Organizations that fail to meet compliance requirements can face legal fines and penalties, as well as damage to their reputation.
As a practical scenario, imagine a healthcare institution that does not renew a digital certificate used in its patient portal. This results in a violation of HIPAA regulations, which require proper encryption of protected health information (PHI).
The organization is facing a regulatory investigation, resulting in substantial fines and damage to its reputation in the healthcare industry.
Management proactive from certificates SSL
To address the challenges and consequences associated with the expiration of digital certificates, it is critical that organizations take a proactive approach to managing their assets.
This includes continuously monitoring the lifecycle of SSLs, implementing automated renewal and revocation processes, and establishing robust security policies and standards.
Monitoring and Tracking
Effective monitoring and tracking of the lifecycle of certificates is essential to ensure that expired ones are identified and dealt with before they cause problems.
This can be achieved by implementing management tools that provide real-time visibility into all SSLs in use.
These tools allow organizations to identify and renew SSL certificates that are nearing expiration and can generate alerts and notifications for those responsible, ensuring that the necessary actions are taken in a timely manner.
Automated renewal and revocation
Implementing automated processes for renewing and revoking SSLs can help reduce the risk of service disruption and security vulnerabilities associated with expired assets.
By integrating management systems with certification authorities and issuing services, organizations can automate the renewal and revocation of these certificates. This ensures that they are always up-to-date and valid.
In addition, automation helps minimize human error and ensure compliance with security policies and regulations.
As we said earlier, imagine if Google can enforce that certificates are valid for 90 days. The renewal challenge will be even greater; GlobalSign, the SSL certificate giant, recognizes that in a realization that SSL certificates expire every 90 days, automation will be required. Click here to see more.
Security policies and standards
Establishing comprehensive security policies and standards is crucial to the effectiveness of proactive SSL digital certificate management.
The policies should address aspects such as selection of trusted certification authorities, duration of validity, encryption requirements, and procedures for renewal and revocation.
In addition, companies should promote employee awareness and training on the importance of these policies and ensure that they are followed and reviewed regularly.
By adopting these proactive practices, organizations can minimize the risks associated with expired SSLs and ensure that their business is protected and compliant with industry standards and regulations.
A he need of automation of the cycle of life cycle automation from certificate SSL
While many organizations are already aware of the importance of effective digital certificate management, not all are adopting modern, automated approaches to address this challenge.
Companies often rely on a mixture of spreadsheets, certification authority (CA) interfaces, and proprietary tools to track and manage their certificates.
Also according to Keyfactor’s “State of Machine Identity Management” report, only about 36% of organizations use a dedicated CLM (Certified Lifecycle Management) solution.
This means that most organizations are stuck in manual and isolated processes that do not provide the necessary visibility into their IT environment.
GlobalSign itself said, that
“Automation is no longer a desire but a necessity.
Benefits of automation at management of cycle management management management from life cycle
Key benefits of automation in certificate lifecycle management include:
- Enhanced visibility
Automation enables organizations to continuously monitor their IT environment by identifying and tracking all certificates in use.
This provides a clear view of the lifecycle of SSLs, enabling organizations to make informed decisions about the renewal and revocation of these assets.
- Reduction of human errors
Manual processes are subject to human error, such as incorrect data entry or failure to renew a certificate.
Automation reduces the possibility of human error, improving efficiency and accuracy in SSL certificate management.
- Agility and scalability
As organizations grow and their IT environment becomes more complex, automation helps to scale up management without requiring additional human resources.
This enables organizations to meet the challenges of management in a more agile and efficient way.
- Improved compliance and security
Automating the certificate lifecycle ensures that organizations are compliant with security standards and industry regulations.
By ensuring that all assets are up-to-date and valid, organizations can minimize security vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of outages and data breaches.
Use Keyfactor Command for efficient SSL certificate management
Keyfactor Command is a leading platform for machine identity management and certificate lifecycle automation.
It offers comprehensive and integrated features to simplify and improve management efficiency while ensuring the security and compliance of organizations.
Some of the key benefits of Keyfactor Command include:
- Full visibility into SSL certificate inventory
The Keyfactor Command solution enables organizations to have a unified, real-time view of all assets in use across the enterprise.
This helps identify those close to expiration, self-signed, and other risks associated with the security of these SSLs.
- Automation of the certificate lifecycle
The Keyfactor Command platform automates the entire management process, including issuance, renewal, revocation, and installation.
This minimizes the risk of human error, reduces the time needed for management, and ensures compliance with security standards and industry regulations.
- Integration with certification authorities and issuing services
Keyfactor Command integrates seamlessly with various certificate authorities (CAs), such as Microsoft Certification Authority or EJBCA, as well as CAs of SSL issuing services, such as GlobalSign, providing a unified solution for management across the organization.
- Robust security policies and standards
The solution provided by the company Keyfactor enables organizations to define and enforce security policies and standards across the enterprise. This ensures that certificates are issued, renewed, and revoked according to best practices, compliance, and governance requirements.
How the Keyfactor Command can help the companies
By adopting the Keyfactor Command solution, enterprises can simplify and improve efficiency in managing their SSL certificates, ensuring ongoing security and compliance.
The platform offers complete visibility and control over the entire certificate lifecycle, as well as automation and integration with certification authorities and issuing services.
This enables organizations to address the challenges associated with expiration and minimize the risks of service disruptions and security vulnerabilities. In addition, it ensures compliance with industry regulations and safety standards.
Eval is partner official partner Keyfactor
Keyfactor is a leading identity management and access security solutions company that helps organizations around the world protect their information and ensure the integrity of their systems.
As an official Keyfactor partner, Eval is committed to helping our customers implement effective security practices, ensuring the protection of code signing keys and compliance with industry standards.
Contact Eval to learn more about how our partnership with Keyfactor can help you strengthen your software security and ensure the integrity of your operations.
About Eval
Eval has been developing projects in the financial, health, education, and industry segments for over 18 years. Since 2004, we have offered solutions for Authentication, Electronic and Digital Signature, and Data Protection. Currently, we are present in the main Brazilian banks, health institutions, schools and universities, and different industries.
With market recognized value, Eval’s solutions and services meet the highest regulatory standards for public and private organizations, such as SBIS, ITI, PCI DSS, and LGPD. In practice, we promote information security and compliance, increase companies’ operational efficiency, and reduce costs.
Innovate now, lead always: get to know Eval’s solutions and services and take your company to the next level.
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