SSL certificates digitally authenticate a website’s identity, and they enable an encrypted connection so people can browse safely. Users can submit sensitive information like credit card numbers without fear that a bad actor will steal them.
To ensure that SSL certificates continue to protect your website and keep your customers’ information safe, you need to renew your SSL certificates before they expire. The consequences of not renewing SSL certificates can be serious – and those deadlines are about to get tighter, down to just 47 days by 2029.
There are two approaches for certificate management: manual and automated. Understanding the SSL renewal process and automating it could save your organization from avoidable disruptions.
Manual SSL Certificate Renewal
Here’s how to renew an SSL certificate manually:
- Generate a certificate signing request (CSR) from your web host. A CSR is a digital application for an SSL certificate. You’ll need to provide contact information to validate domain ownership.
- Your web host will provide you with a CSR code, which will look like a long string of numbers, letters, and symbols. Keep it handy for reactivating your certificate.
- Submit the CSR code to a certificate authority (CA) of your choice. A CA issues the SSL certificate. Follow the CA’s prompts to receive your SSL.
- Once you receive an SSL certificate, install it. The process varies from web host to web host.
For professionals, the process is simple and straightforward. However, those without experience or in-depth knowledge of SSL certificate management may struggle to connect a certificate with a domain – let alone thousands of certificates in an enterprise. The enterprise has to manage server, user, and device certificates, as well as certificates that IT teams might not even know exist.
The Risks of Manual SSL Certificate Renewal
There are a few reasons that the manual approach of how to renew an SSL certificate is risky:
- The task can fall to decentralized, siloed teams who don’t prioritize SSL certificate management.
- Not every team takes the same stringent approach to certificate management; some teams don’t obtain the proper documentation for certificates, or they use self-signed certificates.
- Because not every team places the same priority on SSL certificate management or takes a rigorous approach to it, organizations can experience certificate outages.
When your SSL certificate expires, your site is vulnerable to hackers who can intercept sensitive data. Visitors trying to access your site will receive a notification that it’s not safe to visit, which will reduce traffic and could reduce your revenue. As a result, potential customers will lose trust in you, and your reputation will suffer.
These risks will only intensify as certificate lifespans shrink. With 90- and 47-day certificates on the horizon, the margin for error in manual renewal workflows is collapsing. What used to be a once-a-year task will soon become a catastrophically frequent requirement.
Automated Certificate Renewal with Keyfactor
Automated certificate management simplifies this task so teams can focus on more valuable tasks. Keyfactor offers that capability to improve security posture so your teams can work on what matters most.. Keyfactor Command enables enterprise IT teams to discover, manage, and automate SSL certificate lifecycles.
Here’s how easy it is to renew an SSL certificate through Keyfactor Command’s automated approach:
- Select the certificate to renew. Navigate to the “Expiring” section in your dashboard to view certificates about to expire. Locate the certificate you want to renew from the list of expiring certificates.
- Renew certificates your way. When it comes to certificate renewal, you can simply right-click to renew an SSL certificate, or you can create a certificate event handler to do it for you.
- Create jobs. Whether using the one-click renewal or automated renewal, the renewal request will now be placed into a job.
- Receive your certificate. The renewed certificate will be delivered automatically to your certificate store, either as part of the automated process or following the one-click renewal.
The automated approach of how to renew an SSL certificate saves teams enormous amounts of time and effort. IT teams gain insights into exactly which certificates are about to expire and when so they can avoid costly, risky outages.
As certificate renewal intervals shrink, automation becomes the only viable solution to scale. Without it, teams face a future of constant firefighting, missed deadlines, and avoidable downtime.
Best Practices for SSL Certificate Renewal
To make sure that the automated approach of how to renew an SSL certificate goes smoothly, here are some best practices to follow:
Pre-Renewal Testing
Before launching the renewal process, test it in a staging area to make sure it works properly. SSL certificates play a crucial role in keeping sensitive data safe, so pre-renewal testing ensures the process goes smoothly.
Keyfactor Command offers a pre-renewal testing staging environment, so you can feel confident that the process will work smoothly when it goes live.
Backup and Recovery Plans
What happens if there’s a certificate renewal failure? Your site won’t be protected, which could lead to outages and data breaches.
Keyfactor gives you peace of mind with its robust backup and recovery services. In the event of certificate renewal failure, backup and recovery processes immediately kick in, so you can minimize the effect of risky outages.
Reviewing the CA
It’s important to periodically review your CA to ensure that it’s reputable and that it provides timely support.
With Keyfactor, you can choose from a variety of CAs. Keyfactor can integrate with on-premise Microsoft CAs. In addition, Keyfactor’s AnyCA Gateway allows for integration with cloud-based private CAs, such as those offered by Google, and it supports EJBCA, an open-source CA popular for use in industrial environments and IoT devices.
Monitoring Post-Renewal Certificates
After you renew and install a certificate, you have to make sure it functions properly. If the certificate doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to, you’ll have an expensive, risky outage on your hands.
Keyfactor enables centralized post-renewal certificate monitoring, so you can see how certificates are functioning in one place. Centralized monitoring allows you to keep track of all your certificates and avoid expensive, risky outages.
Automate SSL Certificate Renewal for Greater Security and Uptime
The manual approach of how to renew an SSL certificate offers numerous disadvantages: the high potential for outages, breaches, and reputational damage.
Automating SSL certificate renewal helps you maintain uptime, keeps sensitive information safe, and gives your customers confidence that they can trust your site. With 47-day certificates coming, manual processes are already outdated. The future of certificate management will reward those who automate early.
Don’t wait for an outage to rethink your process. Explore how Keyfactor automates certificate renewal – saving you time, money, and a major headache. Our security experts can help you get started during a customized demo that answers all of your questions, big and small.
