Did you know that the top 1 million websites worldwide use over 2 million SSL certificates?
At face value, the use of SSL certificates creates a sense of trust for users when they visit a website and see the “green lock” in their URL bar. But its importance goes deeper than that. Without SSL certificates, organizations risk the security of their sensitive data, leaving themselves vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, social engineering, and system outages. So, it’s no surprise that the average organization manages around 23,000 SSL certificates.
However, with this multitude comes the risk of mismanagement, which can lead to serious security breaches.
According to Keyfactor’s 2024 PKI & Digital Trust Report, 37% of companies have experienced a certificate-related outage that led to loss of revenue – outages that not only disrupt services but can also leave systems vulnerable.
The solution? A certificate automation management approach that slashes risks and keeps systems safe.
The Increasing Threat of SSL Attacks
A recent study by Enterprise Management Associates found that 80% of SSL/TLS certificates are vulnerable to attacks. Given the sheer number of certificates used by the top 1 million websites, this is a serious concern.
That same study categorized the root cause into three areas: expired certificates (6 million), self-signed certificates (9 million), and outdated protocols, such as organizations using TLS 1.2 and older instead of the more secure TLS 1.3.
These vulnerabilities can lead to various attack vectors, including:
- Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks: Here, an attacker generates a fake certificate to impersonate a legitimate website, allowing them to decrypt, view, and modify sensitive data. MITM attacks can also occur when rogue certificates are issued through a misconfigured or compromised Certificate Authority (CA), enabling attackers to masquerade as the organization’s site.
- SSL Stripping: This stealthy MITM variant downgrades HTTPS connections to HTTP without the user realizing it. It effectively removes encryption and exposes plaintext data to interception.
- SSL Renegotiation Attack: The SSL/TLS protocol has a feature that allows a secure connection to be renegotiated during an active session. This could be while requiring client authentication after the initial connection or changing encryption parameters mid-session. While renegotiation is legitimate, without proper safeguards, attackers exploit it to inject malicious data into an ongoing SSL session, effectively tricking the server or client into accepting data that appears to be part of a trusted communication.
- Heartbleed bug: This infamous vulnerability allows attackers to read memory from systems protected by vulnerable versions of OpenSSL, exposing sensitive information.
- Wildcard certificate: This type of SSL certificate secures a primary domain and all its subdomains under a single certificate. When compromised, it grants attackers access to a range of subdomains within the organization, causing a chain reaction of compromise to the security of multiple domains.
Some SSL attacks can lead to the total breakdown of a website, while others could take a while before they are discovered. The common denominator is the consequential breach of trust that follows an SSL attack. The objective of these certificates is to ensure trust and authenticity, so when this is not met, distrust and reputational damage usually follow.
For organizations in highly regulated industries, the consequence of an SSL attack extends further to compliance, which can lead to penalties, fines, and other legal consequences. SSL attacks can create vulnerabilities in an organization’s security posture, further opening doors to other types of cyber attacks.
SSL and Certificate Management
Organizations that manage thousands of systems without certificate automation often struggle to maintain an up-to-date inventory, especially when relying on spreadsheets or manual tracking methods.
Consequently, most SSL attacks arise from certificate mismanagement issues, including incomplete inventories, expired certificates, shadow certificates, misconfigurations, slow revocation processes, etc.
Consider expired certificates. By using spreadsheets, a PKI professional would have to frequently scroll through rows to identify certificates that need renewal. Some SOC professionals might take things a step further by setting alarms for the expiration dates of each certificate. While this latter process might be more efficient than a spreadsheet, it’s easy to lose continuity when employees change roles, go on vacation, or leave the company. When this happens, the certificates expire and cause downtime, and possibly regulatory damages too.
Manual certificate management also leads to “shadow” certificates, which go unmonitored or unnoticed. These shadow certificates usually occur when non-admins create and deploy certificates without alerting the PKI manager or when the PKI manager doesn’t have adequate visibility. Because these certificates go unnoticed, they are easily compromised and act as gateways for other cyber attacks.
Organizations without certificate automation capabilities also frequently suffer from misconfigurations. A lack of structured and automated certificate management means there’s an absence of standard policies to guide the certificate deployment process. This could lead to misconfigured encryption settings, which defeats the main purpose of having an SSL certificate.
SSL attacks caused by mismanagement can occur on both a small scale and a large scale. These attacks could be something as small as a phishing attack on betting sites, or as large as cyber espionage campaigns. The latter is usually carried out using SSL stripping and can go on for a long time undetected.
Certificate Automation
SSL certificate management can be enhanced by replacing manual processes and/or spreadsheets with certificate automation tools. This is especially important with Google’s recent 90-day TLS certificate validity proposal. Businesses that do not invest in a full automation stack for SSL/TLS certificate management risk having overworked burned-out IT administrators and high employee turnover.
SSL certificate automation reduces the likelihood of human error. It provides organizations with real-time visibility into their certificate inventory, allowing for quick identification and remediation of compromised certificates.
Keyfactor Command and EJBCA enterprise provide full visibility across your entire PKI and certificate landscape.
They automatically manage the lifecycle of SSL certificates on every machine identity from a private, public, or cloud-based certificate authority (CA) from a single control panel. This helps reduce the risk of mismanagement and potential vulnerabilities associated with SSL certificates.
They also support the prompt revocation of compromised certificates, minimizing the window of opportunity for attackers. Overall, they not only enhance security posture but also ensure uninterrupted connections.
But maybe you’re also worried about PQC? The good news is that Keyfactor’s certificate automation tools include features to protect against future threats from advanced computers, like quantum computers, by using stronger encryption methods. These tools can also be set up to enforce consistent rules for creating and managing certificates, making sure they meet your organization’s security standards. This helps prevent mistakes and keeps your certificates secure and up to date.
Learn More About Certificate Automation
Whether you’re managing an enterprise network or designing your startup’s security program, you need certificate automation features that can protect your assets throughout the entire lifecycle.
Partner with Keyfactor to secure your organization today and well into the future. Have questions? We can help. Scheduling 15 minutes with one of our security experts is the fastest way to get a crystal-clear view into how you can modernize your PKI, prevent certificate outages, and keep your systems secure.
