Content | WHITE PAPER 1 INTRODUCTION The need for SSL Certificates has moved well beyond the “buy” page to core functions of the enterprise. SSL Certificates are used to protect remote employee and partner communications via webmail, chat and IM. Browser-to-server communications for cloud-based services require SSL Certificates when used to display customer account information, business partner transactions and for employee productivity tools. Finally, SSL Certificates are used to secure server-to-server communications for applications and data exchange. Managing individual Certificates across a large organization quickly becomes complicated with multiple locations, many divisions, and rapidly growing Web-based services. If an SSL Certificate expires, a company not only loses sales and puts customer confidence in jeopardy, employees and business partners may not be able to do their work or risk exposure of confidential information. Managing SSL Certificates across complex networks to ensure protection and prevent unanticipated expirations has become mission critical to all businesses. This guide provides five simple steps for IT professionals to take control of SSL and Code Signing Certificates across the enterprise, and recommendations for a management platform for full visibility and single-point of control for these Certificates throughout their lifecycle. FIVE STEPS TO TAKE CONTROL OF SSL AND CODE SIGNING CERTIFICATES The following five steps will help an IT administrator gain control over all SSL and Code Signing Certificates within the enterprise. 1. Perform an audit of all domains and Certificates. 2. Consolidate all Certificates into a managed account. 3. Define an administrative process for your organization. 4. Set up alerts, run regular reports on available units and renewals. 5. Revoke and replace Certificates as needed. 1. Perform an audit of all domains and Certificates. Do you know where your SSL Certificates are? Visibility into all SSL Certificates deployed in the enterprise is critical to securing online transactions, communications and Web-based applications. Whether starting from scratch or validating an existing list, a Certificate discovery tool can be used to automate the process and catalogue the location, expiration date, validity period, and key size of SSL Certificates as well as Code Signing Certificates. However, most Certificate Authority (CA) discovery tools only find SSL Certificates issued by that CA or of a particular type. The audit will miss Certificates purchased outside of the approved process, the very SSL Certificates the administrator should be most concerned about. When choosing an SSL enterprise management platform, look for a universal Certificate discovery tool to save time, reduce risk, and simplify the audit process. The discovery tool should also verify that SSL Certificates have been properly installed. Output: Real-time reporting of all Certificates on all secured domains. _________________________________________________________ Scenario: The Mystery Expiration An e-commerce server goes down and no one knows why. Thousands of sales are lost each hour while IT tracks down the problem. An SSL Certificate purchased from a non-approved vendor expired and the administrator who purchased it left the company. The renewal notice never reached the current administrator and no one knew the SSL Certificate existed on the network. VeriSign® Managed PKI for SSL Certificate enables the administrator to discover all Certificates within the enterprise from all CAs for better visibility and control. _________________________________________________________ SIMPLIFY SSL CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE |