How Managers Can Automate Certificate Management
startup around the globe should simplify their method of managing digital certificates by using a hosted security management platform. This will provide them with the ability to quickly discover and manage all the digital certificates on their customers' systems. By optimizing SSL / TLS buys and reducing the time spent managing digital certificates, it can very easily add to the bottom line by driving further cost savings. To accomplish this, security teams need to reduce the number of manual certificates that they have to maintain and update. Manually managing the certificates would require many people to manually input the details of each client, every time they update the information. This can significantly slow down work flow and could lead to employee dissatisfaction and loss of productivity.
One way to help reduce the time needed for managing digital certificates is for businesses to move to automation. Digital certificate services should be outsourced to third party vendors such as Kaspersky Lab or Norton to help in the automation of tasks like the issuance of digital certificates, updating DNS zones, issuing private keys and updating shared principals. Digital certificates are usually stored on DNS servers, and when a new server is added, the DNS server should be updated to reflect the new addition. This can take a long time, especially if there is not a standard process for managing digital certificates.
Another common mistake made by IT professionals is that they do not update the DNS zones from time to time. This is because they assume that once their certificates have been successfully created, the validity period will have elapsed. startup is, certificates will never expire, and it is important for users to make sure that they do not connect to a website before verifying its authenticity. By not updating the DNS zone records, an attack vector can easily enter a system without leaving any evidence, such as changing the port number to a fictitious number that was used to connect to the attacker's server.
If a business is planning to automate the issuance of its digital certificates, then the process will go faster. An added advantage is that a company will not need a team of IT professionals to manage the issuance or renewal process. Using automated process for digital certificates will speed up the process by automating the entire process, which means less time will be spent on manually processing each step. An example of using automated certifies to automate the renewal process is through Microsoft's Electronic Certificate Management (ECM) tool. Using this software, a business will enter the user details of their private key in the Enterprise Portal and the ECM will automatically print a public key image of the private key in the form of a scanned certificate.
An automated process can also be implemented to automate the issuance of smart cards. Smart card technology has been around for quite some time and is used widely in industry. However, it can become susceptible to a number of security flaws due to weak security implementations. By using an Enterprise Portal and implementing the issuance of smart cards via automated process, an enterprise will ensure that the private keys issued are not subject to misuse. To do so, the private keys must be encrypted before being stored on the device. Also, in order to generate the card images, an encryption algorithm must be used.
The automation of these processes helps to ensure compliance with the security standards set by the organization. For instance, an organization may want to manage certificates so that they do not have to be manually submitted to the certificate authority every time a change is made in the various settings. Through automation, this will ensure that the changes are made and the certificate is immediately updated so that future requests for certificates will be approved.
Another instance where organizations need to automate the process of managing digital certificates is when a company wishes to implement Kerckhoffs Security Key Solutions (KSS). startup will contain the necessary keys that will allow users to access the private keys. But in most cases, the keys may not be properly encrypted. With automation, a request will be sent to the KSS provider so that the appropriate keys will be generated. However, it can also be difficult for the administrators to make sure that the appropriate keys have been provided because of poor or incomplete management. When the process is automated, it becomes easier to identify problems that may occur during manual certification review.
Managing certificates therefore requires that security leaders need to ensure that appropriate steps are taken at the very least in order to receive proper notification whenever changes have been made to the different aspects of their security certificates. By automating the process, it becomes easier to obtain updates and new versions of important certificates without manual review. The process also allows the organization to obtain certificates that meet the requirements of businesses that are highly sensitive to changes in their environment. Thus, automation can ensure proper management of digital certificates.