A digital certificate allows users, devices, or servers to prove their authenticity for security purposes. They operate using cryptography and public key infrastructure (PKI), and are otherwise known as public key certificates or identity certificates. Digital safety and security are vital to our day-to-day lives, and the need for digital authentication has become more prevalent than ever. Digital certificates reassure organizations that only trusted users and devices could connect to their networks. This offers increased cybersecurity and a host of other additional benefits. A digital certificate includes essential information, including name, company, department, and serial number. In addition, it includes the all-important public key from the certificate holder. This must be matched to a private key to complete the verification. To help you better understand how a digital certificate works, we have outlined a comprehensive compilation of all its features, variations, and limitations.
Why is security on the internet important?
The internet has grown exponentially and now dictates the daily workflow of millions of people in a plethora of ever-evolving ways. However, higher accessibility and traffic also correlated with more security breaches than ever. This has made digital certificates an important and necessary component in our growing digital world. Firewalls, access control, incident response teams, and other cyber security solutions have also become basic necessities.
How are digital certificates used?
Digital certificates protect intellectual property and prevent cybersecurity attacks in several different situations. Used both online and offline, this technology can protect:
- Websites: Digital certificates implement domain authentication to prove legitimacy.
- Email: Users can identify one another’s authenticity with this technology. They are also used for electronic document signing.
- Digital payment companies: Point-of-sales equipment, kiosks, and teller machines are verified using digital certificates and central servers.
- Cable modems: Digital certificates are embedded into cable modems to prevent potential device cloning and the theft of broadband services.
- Credit and debit cards: Banks and merchants ensure authenticity and security by using chip-embedded digital certificates.
Important features of digital certificates
As this technology becomes more critical, it's crucial to recognize its most essential features and how they benefit both users and organizations.
- Security: They help encrypt both internal and external communications to prevent the theft of sensitive data.
- Reliability: Since only a trusted certificate authority (CA) can issue a digital certificate, users and organizations trust that certificates are legitimate and reliable.
- Scalability: They can be easily issued, revoked, and renewed. They are also available to organizations of any size, large or small.
- Authenticity: Ensuring the authenticity of online communication is essential in the growing digital era, and digital certificates do just that.
- Public trust: With the ever-looming threat of cyberattacks, the use of digital certificates helps build networks that people trust.
Types of digital certificates
Different types of digital certificates cover a wide range of security needs:
Transport layer security (TLS/SSL) certificate:
A TSL/SSL certificate sits on a server and ensures that all communication is encrypted and private. Importantly, web addresses indicate TLS/SSL certification through the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) designation. They appear at the beginning of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). There are three different types:
- Domain validated: Quick, accessible, easy, and cheap.
- Organization validated: Provides light business authentication and is ideal for e-commerce organizations.
- Extended validation: Provides full business authentication, which is perfect for larger organizations dealing with sensitive information.
Client certificate:
A client certificate is a digital ID that helps users or machines with self-identification.
Code signing certificate:
Confirms the authenticity of software or files on the internet and that they are safe to download.
Who can issue a digital certificate?
- Certificate authorities: CAs are trusted third parties that issue reliable and trustworthy digital certificates.
- Individual entities: Entities can produce their own digital certificates if they have their own PKI. This is especially useful if they intend on producing them for their own internal use.
Benefits of digital certificates
- Privacy: Protects users and businesses by safeguarding sensitive data and allowing only authorized personnel to access it.
- Flexibility: While they are often purchased from CAs, do-it-yourself digital certificates are also possible.
- Ease of use: The process is almost entirely automated.
- Cost-effective: They tend to be cheaper than other encryption and certification options.
Limitations of digital certificates
- Security: Hacking is still possible. Most commonly, this occurs via the issuing of a digital CA.
- Management: The larger the company, the more digital certificates they will be using. This can end up being a mammoth task to manage, especially when it comes to expiration dates. Some organizations hire a third party to execute the management, but this can be costly.
- Slow performance: The process of authenticating a digital certificate can be time-consuming.
- Integration: To be effective, they must be integrated with other systems, applications, hardware, data, and networks. This may require hard work and specific expertise.
Final thoughts
Digital certificates are essential in the ever-growing world of technological advancements. Despite some limitations, they provide extended security, reliability, and authentication for businesses and individual users. It is essential to understand how they work, why they are necessary, and how you can go about obtaining one.
Founded in 2000 and a publicly traded company as of 2018 (STOCK CODE: 300454.SZ), Sangfor Technologies is an APAC-based, global leading vendor specializing in Cyber Security, Cloud Computing, and IT infrastructure. If you have any questions about this topic or for an overview of Sangfor security solutions, visit us at www.sangfor.com to learn more about Sangfor’s solutions and let Sangfor make your Digital Transformation Simpler and Secure.
