Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) supports digital certificates and their associated keys to verify the identity of users and devices to other users, devices and applications. As such, PKI is paramount to network and Internet security because sensitive communications must verify the party they’re communicating with. Many organizations manage the process in-house, but day-to-day distractions and lax governance can make that a dangerous model.
The challenge that many companies face is finding the right platform to manage those digital certificates – with capabilities that bolster security and a price tag that makes good financial sense.
What happens when an organization purchases the wrong certificate management platform?
Let’s start with a definition. Simply put, a wildcard certificate is a public key certificate that can be used on multiple subdomains. For example, a wildcard certificate issued for https://*.examplecompany.com could be used to secure all subdomains, such as:
- blog.examplecompany.com
- mobile.examplecompany.com
Here comes the obvious benefit of using wildcard certificates: with a single digital certificate, I can secure and authenticate all my public facing subdomains, avoiding the hassle of managing multiple certificates. Instead of purchasing separate certificates for my subdomains, I can use a single wildcard cert for all domains and subdomains across multiple servers.
However, wildcard certificates cover only one level of subdomains since the asterisk does nοt match full stops. In this case, the domain resources.blog.keyfactor.com would not be valid for the certificate. Neither is the naked domain keyfactor.com covered, which will have to be included as a separate Subject Alternate Name.
More and more companies who originally made a certificate management platform investment are now searching for a better alternative. Why? The reasons vary but a couple of core themes remain consistent:
Security Gaps
The investment in an automated certificate management is one of the most important investments any organization can make. Whether the impetus for investment is asset management, eCommerce or compliance control, you want to be able to trust that the platform is doing its job. But what happens if your certificate management system is not integrated to the CA? There could be a significant risk for a breach. And of course non-validated certificate requesters and non-secure connections increase these threats.
Additional Fees
Most organizations look for a platform that can deploy full-time operations management of all issued certificates. Very often these investments come with a hidden cost – a price per-certificate fee. As the organization’s digital certificate footprint grows, the platform costs increase exponentially, which can significantly impact your budget and ability to take on other initiatives. Today’s enterprise wants to invest in solutions that simplify operations, deliver security assurance, and doesn’t handcuff future projects and growth.
Does this look like your organization?
If so, and you find yourself searching for alternatives, consider these features in your new certificate-management platform:
- Ensure all private and public certificates are accounted for and securely deployed through CA gateways
- Proven uptime that avoids customer dissatisfaction and/or business disruption
- No per-certificate fees and the ability to scale – 500M+ certificates without slowing down
- Easy and fast integration without having to rip out your existing infrastructure
Consider CSS as a better alternative – as many of your peers already have.
If you’re ready to save, scale, and ensure your PKI and digital certificate security – click below learn more about the CSS Freedom Buyout Offer:
