Certificate management has recently become a higher profile challenge thanks to Google’s well-publicised intention to reduce certificate lifespans, acceptable for use in its popular browser Chrome, to a maximum of 90 days.
Yet certificates are a crucial element in ensuring the trust and security of any website transaction. However, the longer certificates remain valid, the less reliable they become. Shorter lifespans will increase that currency of trust and are undoubtedly a benefit for your cyber security in the long run. So why do even some of the largest organisations with the widest resources struggle to manage their certificates effectively?
The Challenges of Certificate Management
Lack of Visibility Across Certificates
Many security managers struggle with visibility over their entire certificate estate, particularly when it comes to legacy wildcard certificates. These certificates, while convenient, can pose substantial security risks if not properly managed. Without a comprehensive view of all certificates, it becomes nearly impossible to ensure they’re all renewed within the correct timeframe.
The Impact of Expired Certificates
Expired certificates are a major cyber security vulnerability. They can expose your organisation to various threats, including man-in-the-middle attacks, data breaches, and non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
Even without a data breach, certificate expirations can cause service outages that damage your reputation or your sales, disrupt operations as everyone tries to resolve the problem, and possibly incur significant financial costs to resolve.
The Burden of Manual Renewal
In large enterprises, the manual renewal of certificates is an arduous and time-consuming process. With thousands of certificates spread across disparate systems and environments, managing renewals manually can be a logistical nightmare. The reduction of certificate validity from 398 days to 90 days will drastically increase the workload, making manual management unsustainable.
Using TLS Certificate Automation to Enhance Cyber Security
Taking back proactive control of your certificate management can be achieved effectively using a specialist solution including TLS certificate automation. There are many benefits for both your organisation and your customers, resulting in a safer, more trustworthy online experience.
Benefits of Automation to Security Managers
Enhanced Efficiency and Reduced Workload
- Automated Discovery and Renewal: Automation tools can discover, track, and renew certificates without manual intervention, freeing up your time to focus on strategic tasks rather than routine maintenance.
- Reduced Errors: Automated systems minimise human error in the renewal process, ensuring your certificates are updated accurately and on time, reducing the risk of service disruptions due to unexpected expirations.
Improved Visibility and Control
- Centralised Management: Good solutions provide a centralised dashboard for managing all certificates, offering a comprehensive view of the entire certificate landscape including legacy and wildcard certificates that you might not even know about.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Continuous monitoring and real-time alerts for upcoming expirations or anomalies help you stay ahead of potential issues.
Increased Security
- Timely Updates. Automated renewals ensure that all certificates are updated regularly, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities associated with outdated or expired certificates.
- Reduced Attack Surface. By ensuring that all certificates are valid and up-to-date, the potential attack surface is minimised, enhancing your overall security posture.
Regulatory Compliance
- Audit Readiness: Automated systems maintain detailed logs of all certificate activities, simplifying compliance with industry regulations and facilitating smoother audits.
- Policy Enforcement: Automation can also help enforce and facilitate organisational policies regarding certificate usage and lifecycle management, ensuring consistent application across all systems.
Benefits of Automation for Your Customers
Enhanced Trust and Reputation
- Consistent Uptime: Automated certificate management reduces the risk of unexpected expirations, ensuring that services remain available and reliable, which bolsters customer trust and safeguards sales.
- Secure Transactions: Up-to-date certificates guarantee secure, encrypted communications, protecting customer data and maintaining confidence in your organisation’s commitment to security.
Improved User Experience
- Seamless Access: With automated renewals, customers experience fewer disruptions, leading to a smoother, more reliable interaction with your organisation’s services.
- Reduced Latency: Optimised certificate management can lead to improved performance of web services, enhancing overall user experience.
Proactive Issue Resolution
- Early Issue Detection: Automated systems can detect and alert you to potential issues before they impact your customers, allowing for proactive resolution and reducing the likelihood of service interruptions.
- Faster Recovery: In the event of a problem, automated systems can facilitate quicker recovery and issuance of certificates, minimising downtime and customer inconvenience.
Compliance and Assurance
- Trustworthy Transactions: Customers are assured that their data is handled securely, complying with the latest industry standards and regulations, which is particularly important for sectors like finance, healthcare, and e-commerce.
- Confidence in Data Protection: Knowing that the organisation uses automated, up-to-date security practices reassures customers that their sensitive information is protected from cyber threats.
Conclusion
The benefits of TLS certificate automation extend far beyond the immediate advantages of efficiency and security. For security managers, it means streamlined operations, enhanced visibility, and stronger compliance, enabling them to focus on higher-level strategic goals. For your organisation’s customers, it translates to improved service reliability, secure transactions, and greater trust in the organisation’s ability to protect their data.
Certificate management is a relatively new and specialist area of expertise. Partnering with a cyber specialist to implement certificate automation or review your processes before the Google 90-day limit arrives should streamline your implementation and ensure the change is integrated seamlessly into your team’s existing processes.
FullProxy’s cyber specialists partner with AppViewX to implement a full suite of certificate management automation solutions. Ask for a no-obligation demo today.
