In an era of ever-increasing and complex digital threats, safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining secure online connections have become vitally important. In 2020, the SolarWinds Orion platform was breached, and a bevy of highly sensitive information was stolen. The culprit behind this headline-hitting attack? You guessed it – compromised SSL certificates and PKI.
If that incident is anything to go by, learning the ABCs of PKI management and SSL certificates isn’t just helpful for decision-makers in 2023; it’s mission-critical. In this short guide, we strip these two concepts down to their bare bones, from the basics all the way to the role they play in ensuring digital identity, trust, and security.
SSL Certificates: Keeping Online Connections Secure
Short for secure socket layer certificates, SSL certificates’ job is to authenticate a website’s identity and establish a secure connection between the web server and a browser.
SSL certificates are a type of X.509 certificate and have a key pair: a public and a private key. These keys are used for encryption and decryption of data during secure communication. Data that has been encrypted with a public key can be decrypted only with the corresponding private key.
In the realm of SSL certificates, you’ll find a range of options from which you can choose depending on your needs. Each type has perks and value propositions.
There are three widely recognized types of SSL certificates types:
- Extended Validation (EV): Provides the highest level of authentication and trust for websites.
- Organization Validation (OV): Offers a higher level of authentication compared to DV certificates but falls short of the stringent requirements of EV certificates.
- Domain Validation (DV): Industry-standard encryption doesn’t come much simpler and more cost-effective than this.
If you’re wondering who’s responsible for issuing SSL certificates, it’s actually a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). Before issuance, the CA has to receive specific information and documentation, after which they complete a certificate verification process in accordance with established Baseline Requirements.
PKI Management: The Backbone of Trust
Contrary to popular belief, PKI management is not exactly a hard-to-grasp concept. Essentially, it encompasses a range of tasks and security protocols that are crucial for creating and maintaining an efficient, high-performing public key infrastructure.
At its core, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) facilitates the administration and distribution of digital certificates as well as public keys. PKI ensures that these certificates and keys are not only properly issued and validated but also effectively handled and managed.
What enables the use of technologies such as encryption and digital signatures, particularly across larger populations, is none other than PKIs. Overall, PKIs play a role in creating a secure and trustworthy business environment for the quickly-expanding Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based services.
Best Practices for PKI Management
Implementing best practices for PKI management is crucial to ensure the security, reliability, and efficiency of your public key infrastructure. Here are some key practices to consider:
Provide top-notch security for private keys
Many PKI management issues can be headed off by ensuring private keys are not stored in password-protected documents or text documents. Losing a private key can let an attacker fraudulently impersonate an organization’s identity or sign application content. The best method to secure your keys is to use some form of cryptographic hardware storage device. Think USB tokens, Smart Cards, and Hardware Storage Modules (HSM).
Make periodic audits a habit
Whether you choose to tackle your PKI health check internally or through a partner, the process should be conducted on a frequent basis and must include a complete architecture and security model review of your PKI. If you don’t take these audits seriously, rest assured you’ll have an incredibly difficult time averting an event like data misuse or exploitation should it happen.
Seek expert help
PKI is a critical infrastructure, so implementing and operating your PKI deployment using poorly-versed, half-trained admins almost certainly guarantees its failure. To be on the safe side, hire skilled resources who understand the nuts and bolts of PKI solutions.
A Secure, Potent Business Awaits at the Other End of Secure Online Communications
Together, SSL certificates and PKI management are indispensable when it comes to authenticating and encrypting information flowing through the internet. Don’t open up your devices, people, and data to hackers’ scathing, business-crippling attacks when you can do something about it.
With Sectigo’s comprehensive certificate management solutions, you can leverage advanced PKI Management tools, thereby enhancing your IT security and ensuring fuss-free business operations.