Managing digital certificates for a vast network of devices can feel like an uphill battle, especially when you’re juggling complexity, time constraints, and manual processes.
That’s where the Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) comes in – it’s designed to streamline and automate certificate issuance, using shared secrets to authenticate and enable seamless communication between devices.
SCEP is a game-changer for large organizations looking to scale certificate management efficiently.
But let’s be honest: setting it up isn’t always simple. It often requires integrating device management tools and configuring SCEP agents – tasks that can quickly become overwhelming without the right guidance.
The good news? With the right approach, SCEP can provide the fast, standardized, and automated certificate enrollment your organization needs.
Ready to simplify the process and overcome the setup hurdles? Here’s your step-by-step guide to mastering SCEP certificate management.
Key components of SCEP
Several components make up the SCEP protocol: the CA server, the SCEP server, the device agent(s), and the shared secret. For successful SCEP certificate issuance, all of these components must work in harmony.
Here’s a closer look at the key components of SCEP:
CA Server
The Certificate Authority (CA) has two main tasks: 1) It verifies the identities of devices that request digital certificates; 2) upon successful verification, it issues digital certificates to devices.
The CA also manages the lifecycles of these certificates, e.g., renewals, revocations, and expirations.
SCEP Server
The SCEP server acts as an intermediary between the CA and the devices requesting digital certificates.
First, the SCEP server validates the requests sent by devices before passing them on to the CA. Later, after the CA has successfully verified the request, the SCEP server ensures secure transmission of certificate enrollment messages from the CA to the verified device.
Device agent
In order to send requests for digital certificates to the SCEP server, each device must run a device agent. It is the device agent’s job to generate and send a certificate to the CA via the SCEP server. Every certificate the digital agent generates must include a key pair, which the CA will use to verify the device.
Understanding SCEP setup
Successful SCEP deployment requires a clear understanding of not only each component but each step in the certificate enrollment process.
SCEP integration
To set the stage for successful SCEP setup, begin by assessing your CA. The CA must be configured to support SCEP. More concretely, you need to verify that your CA is compatible with SCEP. Depending on your organization’s CA, this may require installing an SCEP module or other add-on to ensure compatibility. The majority of CA solutions support SCEP.
SCEP server setup
Remember that the SCEP server is the intermediary between the devices that request digital certificates and the CA. Specifically, the SCEP server is responsible for handling devices’ initial requests. Before the SCEP server can pass on requests to the CA, it must verify a device’s identity. It does by authenticating the shared secret. The shared secret is created during SCEP configuration and is subsequently used by all devices as a means of authentication when requesting digital certificates.
Device preparation and enrollment
In order to communicate with the SCEP server and send a request for a digital certificate, a device needs the SCEP agent or client. It’s the device agent that communicates with the SCEP server and sends the certificate enrollment request.
Once your CA has been prepared to support SCEP integration and each of your devices has a designated device agent, you’re ready to begin getting and deploying SCEP certificates.
Here’s an overview of how the SCEP certificate enrollment process works:
- Via its device agent, a device generates and sends a CSR to the SCEP server.
- The SCEP server verifies and forwards the request to the CA.
- Following successful verification, the CA signs the digital certificate, which is passed back to the device via the SCEP server.
KF-specific SCEP
If you’re working with a Keyfactor (KF) specific SCEP, then there are additional factors to consider during SCEP setup.
First, note that the KF SCEP server requires one encryption certificate with a private key as well as one signing certificate with a private key.
To create a SCEP certificate request, you’ll need several templates. You can use custom templates, or you can use built-in CEP Encryption and Exchange Enrollment Agent certificate templates. Once you’ve set up the templates for enrollment, you can begin using them to request, validate, and issue certificates.
Note that if you opt for the built-in templates, you can speed up the process by automatically acquiring certificates during the configuration process.
Challenges of SCEP deployment
SCEP is a net win for organizations as it speeds up certificate issuances and reduces the need for manual intervention. Unfortunately, SCEP setup and configuration come with their share of obstacles, particularly when it comes to troubles with deploying SCEP certificates.
As you get ready to get and deploy SCEP certificate requests, be prepared to face these potential challenges:
Integrating various components is tricky
SCEP setup requires the careful integration of various components. Remember, you must begin by configuring your CA and ensuring it supports SCEP. You then need to install SCEP modules and/or add-ons and designate device agents for each and every device. Simultaneously managing all of these components can lead to complications and is all the more challenging for large organizations.
Every device needs a SCEP agent
An important part of SCEP configuration is ensuring each device has a designated SCEP agent. This device agent must then be integrated with your device management system. Both of these processes can be laborious and time-consuming.
Best practices to optimize your SCEP deployment
To optimize SCEP setup and deployment, prioritize security and consider strategies to automate and scale.
Here’s a closer look at best practices for SCEP deployment:
- Use automation to minimize manual intervention: Automation plays an important role in SCEP deployment to speed up configuration and reduce manual labor. Specifically, teams can use device management solutions to automate the installation of SCEP agents and certificate enrollment. In turn, teams can minimize manual intervention and chances of human error.
- Be prepared to scale: Even if your organization has handily mastered SCEP setup, new challenges often arise when it comes time to scale. To prevent bottlenecks down the road, start thinking about scaling from the get-go. Ensure your infrastructure will be prepared to handle increased loads as you onboard new devices to your network for certificate enrollment down the line.
- Regularly monitor the CA for certificate requests: To keep bad actors at bay, you must incorporate an aspect of defense into your SCEP deployment strategy. To that end, set up a system to regularly monitor the CA for certificate requests. This way, you can ensure there are no unauthorized enrollment attempts—and if there are, you’re ready to take the necessary defensive action.
Next steps: Simplifying SCEP deployment and management
SCEP deployment and certificate management can be tough, but it’s still necessary for companies that need to automate and standardize certificate enrollment.
To ease the process, Keyfactor offers certificate lifecycle automation solutions that enable you to easily track and automate the lifecycle of digital certificates at scale.
See Keyfactor in action. Learn how our solutions can help you protect and automate every machine identity across your digital business. Reserve your custom demo today to get started.
