Why SSL certificate automation is essential for organisations of all sizes
SSL certificate automation is essential for organisations of all sizes to avoid downtime and security risks associated with expired certificates. The renewal process can be complex and time-consuming, especially for organisations with large or complicated IT infrastructures. With the upcoming changes reducing the validity period of SSL certificates to 90 days, the need for efficient renewal processes becomes even more important. Automated SSL solutions offer significant benefits, including preventing expiry, saving time and ensuring accuracy. Sectigo Certificate Manager provides a comprehensive, automated solution for seamlessly managing and renewing SSL certificates, increasing security and reducing administrative overheads.
Risks of manual certificate renewal
SSL/TLS certificates are the foundation of modern web security, yet far too many organisations suffer certificate expirations on a regular basis. Certificate expiration is usually due to short-sighted or otherwise ineffective renewal strategies.
Organisations of all sizes and industries are susceptible to certificate renewal problems. The renewal process can be time-consuming in general, but when large organisations require a large number of certificates (and they are part of a complex IT infrastructure), it can be difficult for IT teams to keep up. Unfortunately, small and medium-sized organisations are not immune to these problems, as the validity period of SSL certificates is about to be shortened. The shorter validity period, combined with the fact that small and medium-sized businesses sometimes lack IT expertise, means that organisations of this size can be even more vulnerable to outages and expired certificates.
The good news? Certificate failures are by no means inevitable. Automatic certificate renewal can circumvent major risks by ensuring that all SSL certificates remain up to date. Read on to learn what this means, why it’s necessary for everyone from small to large organisations, and the benefits you can expect when implementing automatic certificate renewal.
Understanding SSL certificates
There are many types of SSL certificates, all of which serve to protect digital communication and strengthen digital trust. There are three different levels of certificate validation:
- Domain Validation (DV) : The fastest, easiest and most cost-effective way to obtain industry-standard encryption. This type of validation requires proof of ownership of the secured domain and is usually issued within a few minutes.
- Organisation Validation (OV) : OV involves a slightly more extensive validation approach, where the legitimacy of the organisation associated with a particular domain is verified. This creates a higher level of trust.
- Extended Validation (EV) : The most thorough form of validation, EV certificates require in-depth measures to verify everything from the legal existence of an organisation to its physical location. This type is the industry standard for eCommerce websites.
Within these levels of validation, there are different variations of certificates, including single-domain, wildcard and multi-domain certificates. A multi-domain certificate makes it possible to protect multiple domains with a single certificate. Wildcard certificates are designed to protect one main domain and an unlimited number of sub-domains under this main domain.Currently, certificates can remain valid for up to 397 days after initial issue. However, validity periods will soon change, and it will become much more difficult to keep up with renewals when the expected 45-day validity periods arrive. To avoid SSL certificates reaching their expiry date, organisations need to start preparing now by implementing targeted strategies including automatic certificate renewal.
The importance of SSL certificate renewal
Renewal plays a crucial role in the lifecycle of certificates. It is usually the last phase before the whole cycle starts again. If certificates are not renewed on time, they will expire, drastically increasing the likelihood of devastating service disruptions/ business interruption/ loss of customer/ brand reputation and in some cases leading to security breaches.Although there are many ways to handle certificate renewal, many organisations still rely on manual processes that are cumbersome and error-prone. However, there are solutions for automated SSL certificate renewal that can help mitigate the many risks associated with manual renewal and expired certificates. This is especially important in light of the upcoming expiration changes mentioned above, as it will take significantly more time and effort to keep expiring certificates up to date.
Advantages of automatic renewal
The renewal step is an extremely important phase in the overall CLM (Certificate Lifecycle Management) process. If you are considering an automated SSL renewal service, you should look for a solution that is reliable, cost-effective, scalable and versatile. The benefits of implementing this type of automation include
- Avoiding expiration deadlines: With overworked IT staff and an escalating reduction in the validity period of SSL certificates, it can be easy to fall behind on existing certificates. In addition, some organisations have issues with certificate visibility and are unable to determine which certificates need to be renewed in the first place. This can lead to processes that risk service interruptions and jeopardise data integrity. However, automated solutions ensure that certificates are renewed immediately, drastically reducing the risk of downtime.
- Significant time savings: Manual renewal processes are time-consuming in the best of circumstances, but this fact has become even more important as IT environments have become increasingly complex. Today, it is incredibly difficult to keep up with manual renewals, especially when dealing with hundreds (possibly thousands) of certificates spread across large networks or from a multitude of Certificate Authorities (CAs). Automated solutions speed up this process so that busy IT professionals can focus on other important things.
- Greater accuracy: Even the most experienced IT professionals are prone to human error, and in complex processes such as certificate identification and renewal, such errors are particularly likely. Automated systems are known for their accuracy and therefore offer the highest level of security.
Simply put, automated renewals are worthwhile because they improve an organisation’s overall cyber security. Security breaches and other Security breaches and other security concerns can be costly and can not only lead to significant downtime, but can also significantly damage an organisation’s reputation. This can be downright devastating for businesses, as they work hard to earn the trust of their customers and can be difficult to regain after security breaches.
How you can automate the renewal of SSL certificates
Automating certificate renewal promises numerous benefits, but it depends on the solution you use to automate this process. The first step is choosing a platform, and choosing the right one is critical. Ideally, automated SSL renewal services offer a range of features, including automated processes that cover the entire lifecycle of a certificate – from search to renewal and everything in between. The best platforms also offer seamless technology integrations that work smoothly within an organisation’s current IT environment. Notifications are also critical, as they ensure that any digital certificate issues that arise are dealt with quickly before significant downtime occurs. Sectigo provides a trusted solution that not only automates certificate renewal, but also other critical components of the certificate lifecycle: Recognition, provisioning, deployment and more. Sectigo Certificate Manager is a comprehensive solution for automating the entire digital certificate lifecycle. This powerful tool provides organisations with the ability to automatically manage, monitor and renew SSL certificates. With its advanced automation capabilities, this platform significantly reduces the administrative burden on IT teams, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives while ensuring continuous protection.
Automate SSL certificate renewal with Sectigo
Are you ready to stop worrying about the looming risk of an expiring certificate? Sectigo Certificate Manager automates the renewal process to make failures a thing of the past. Our system utilises the power of the Automated Certificate Management Environment (ACME) to streamline a variety of essential certificate management tasks – including time-consuming certificate renewal.
Find out more about Sectigo in the Provider Directory.
