Security certificates play a vital role in securing data transmitted over the internet and protecting the identities of individuals and organizations online. These digital certificates are based on public key infrastructure (PKI) technology which uses public and private encryption keys together with security certificates to establish secure connections and verify identities.
PKI uses a hierarchical structure of digital certificates to establish trust between parties in an online transaction. It verifies your digital certificates’ authenticity and ensures they have not been tampered with.
The best known applications of PKI are the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, which use security certificates to enable encrypted communication and authentication over the web. SSL certificates are used to encrypt data transmitted between a web browser and a server. They ensure that sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers, and other personal data is protected from interception by unauthorized parties. They also provide authentication, ensuring that users communicate with the intended website and not an imposter.
This article looks at some of the vital roles of security certificates in protecting your online data and why you need a security certificate management system for optimal certificate management.
5 Ways Security Certificates Can Protect Online Data
1. Enable Encrypted Data Transmission
SSL/TLS certificates allow your websites and applications to establish encrypted connections with web browsers and other clients. This encrypts all data transmitted during the session, including pages, files, form submissions, login credentials, API requests, and responses. It ensures data transmitted over the internet remains private and tamper-proof.
2. Authenticate Website and Application Identities
Security certificates are digital IDs that uniquely identify your websites and applications. When a client sees a certificate during a connection, it verifies that the certificate matches the expected identity. This proves to the client that it is securely connected to the authentic destination. This prevents man-in-the-middle attacks.
3. Secure Login Information
This trust is immediately justified by the encryption of usernames, passwords, and other credentials transmitted during the login process with certificates. Certificates facilitate establishing SSL/TLS encrypted connections for login pages and authentication APIs. This encrypts all credentials and inputs transmitted during the login process, preventing network attackers from intercepting usernames, passwords, and other sensitive login data as it travels across the internet.
4. Restrict Access to Sensitive Data
Certificate-based mutual authentication can be used to restrict access to protected resources like APIs, databases, and admin interfaces. Only clients with valid, trusted certificates are granted access, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data.
5. Audit and Log Secure Activities
With a comprehensive security certificate management system like Sectigo, you can record details of all certificate lifecycle events in their audit logs. This includes issuance, installation, renewal, revocation, and other events. The logs enable auditing and monitoring of all PKI-related activities for security, compliance, and troubleshooting purposes.
Why You Need a Good Security Certificate Management System
A good security certificate management system is the final piece of the security certificate puzzle. As your encrypted connections, applications, and devices multiply, automation is required to issue, renew and revoke the large number of certificates needed.
An effective system ensures that your certificates remain valid, reduces security risks, and helps meet compliance requirements. It provides visibility into certificate status, logs, and expiration dates. The system can also automate routine tasks and unify certificate management to streamline the process.
Choosing the right automated certificate management system is crucial to maintaining your data security, compliance, and manageability as your use of SSL certificates expands.
Optimizing Your Online Data Security With Efficient Certificate Management
Security certificates and effective PKI management are critical in protecting your encrypted web data through authentication, encryption, and other functions. A tailored certificate management solution from Sectigo can help you implement a robust PKI system to secure your online data and prevent unauthorized access.
This article was provided by Jenny Patel
