What Is SSL Certificate Management And How To Implement It

Secure Sockets Layer or SSL Certificate management plays a big role in protecting the sensitive information shared between your site and its visitors. While the first step is buying and installing an SSL certificate, managing it effectively is essential for ongoing security, maintaining your business’s reputation, and visibility in search engine rankings. In this blog, we’ll explore the different parts of SSL Certificate management, giving you clear explanations and detailed steps to help you with your site’s safety.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• SSL certificate management involves acquiring, installing, monitoring, renewing, and revoking certificates to ensure encrypted connections. Effective management is vital for maintaining security standards, preventing browser warnings, and complying with industry regulations.
• SSL certificates establish encrypted connections between web servers and browsers, protecting sensitive data such as login credentials and payment information. The SSL handshake ensures secure communication through server authentication and session key generation.
• DV certificates provide basic security and are suitable for personal websites. OV certificates involve verifying the company and are appropriate for businesses. EV certificates offer the highest level of trust, displaying the company’s name prominently in the browser’s address bar.
• Acquiring SSL certificates involves purchasing and installing them correctly to ensure proper functionality. Monitoring is essential; therefore, you must use tools that track expiration dates and detect misconfigurations.
• Using automation tools can reduce human error and improve efficiency in managing SSL certificates. When evaluating tools, consider options for automation, centralized management, and compatibility with existing systems.

What is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL certificate is a digital protocol confirming a website’s identity. This certificate includes important details about the holder, such as the domain name, company information, and the Certificate Authority (CA) that issued it.

They are essential for establishing secure connections between web servers and browsers by encrypting data transferred over the Internet. This helps protect sensitive information like credit card numbers, login credentials, and personal details from potential eavesdroppers and interception by cybercriminals.

In addition, SSL, or the more modern TSL (Transport Layer Security), certificates help enhance user trust by providing visual indicators, such as the padlock icon in browsers and the HTTPS prefix in a URL, that signal a website is secure. 

When someone accesses a website protected by an SSL certificate, their browser begins what is known as a “handshake” with the server. This process helps ensure that information shared between the user and the website is kept private and secure. The general steps are:

1. Establishing a Secure Connection: The browser sends a request to the server for a secure connection.
2. Server Verification: In response, the server transmits its SSL certificate to the browser for authentication.
3. Certificate Validation: The browser verifies validity by checking its signature against recognized CAs.
4. Session Key Generation: Once the certificate is successfully validated, the browser and the server create session keys to encrypt the data exchanged during that session.

Types of SSL Certificates

There are various types of SSL certificates, each catering to different needs, which include:

• Domain Validated (DV): These certificates validate domain ownership only. They are generally issued quickly and are best for personal websites or blogs.
• Organization Validated (OV): OV certificates verify the company’s identity and domain ownership. They are well-suited for businesses looking for higher validation and security.
• Extended Validation (EV): EV certificates deliver the highest level of trust and security and require the most verification. The company name is displayed in the browser’s address bar (often in green) to further enhance visitor trust.

The Importance of SSL Certificate Management 

SSL certificates are an important part of website security, and managing them includes several key steps to guarantee the privacy and integrity of sensitive data. These steps include purchasing, installing, monitoring, and renewing your SSL certificate, essential to maintaining a secure site. 

Managing SSL certificates is essential for keeping your website secure and protected. It helps close any gaps that could occur from expired or misconfigured certificates. By regularly updating your certificates, you’re not just preventing issues but also shielding your site from potential threats.

Without a valid certificate, this encryption fails, leaving data vulnerable. Next, modern browsers warn visitors that a website isn’t secured when they encounter expired or invalid certificates, telling them not to access the site.

SSLs are a ranking factor for search engines like Google. If yours is not configured correctly, you might get penalized. It can negatively affect your rankings and visibility. Frequent or prolonged website issues due to certificate problems can damage your business’s reputation and lower customer trust.

It’s also worth mentioning that in many industries, strict regulations require encryption to keep sensitive data safe. For instance, businesses dealing with payment information must follow the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

Taking good care of your SSL certificates is essential for meeting these regulations and safeguarding your business from legal issues caused by data breaches.

The Lifecycle of SSL Certificates

The life cycle begins with obtaining an SSL certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). This involves generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR), validating the domain it will be used for, and installing it.

The next step is to generate a CSR, a file containing your domain details, business name, and contact information. It also contains the public key that will be included in the SSL certificate. A CSR is usually generated using tools provided by your web server software or your hosting provider. Always store the associated private key securely, as it’s essential for installing and using the SSL certificate.

After submitting the CSR to the CA, you will need to validate your domain. This confirms that you own and control the domain you requested the certificate for.

Note: The validation method varies depending on the type of certificate and the CA.

Once your domain is validated, the CA will issue the SSL certificate. The final step is to install the certificate on your web server. This involves uploading the files, including the certificate and intermediate and root certificates, to your hosting server.

Installing the SSL certificate properly on your web server is important, as this allows for encrypted connections. You’ll need to adjust your server settings to HTTPS instead of HTTP to ensure everything runs smoothly and securely.

When you sign up for Web or WordPress Hosting with Hosted.com, we include a free SSL certificate that we install and configure to protect your site from the start.

SSL certificates usually last for one year, so keeping track of their renewal is key to ensuring that everything runs smoothly without interruptions. Setting up reminders or using automated renewal systems can help simplify this process and make it easier to avoid breaks in your encryption.

Best Practices for SSL Certificate Management

When managing SSL/TLS certificates, the main goal is to ensure they are valid, secure, and properly configured. Effective management is all about keeping data safe and your website running smoothly. By staying on top of your certificates, you can avoid security breaches, service disruptions, and compliance issues that might pop up from expired, misconfigured, or compromised ones.

Track Expiry Dates

Keeping a close eye on SSL certificate expiry dates helps to avoid service disruptions and security issues. When certificates expire, it can create browser warnings, lower customer trust, and even make your website inaccessible, making track and monitoring these dates essential.

You can use certificate management tools, set up reminders, and create automated alerts to help with this. Plus, it’s a good idea to regularly check your certificates to ensure everything’s accurate and catch any that are about to expire, giving you plenty of time for renewal.

Monitor Certificate Status

Like checking expiry dates, monitoring your SSL certificate status is important for spotting any potential problems or vulnerabilities. This means regularly checking validity, revocation status, and configuration changes.

Using real-time monitoring tools lets you receive alerts for unusual activities, like upcoming expirations, misconfigurations, or security risks. By staying proactive, you can quickly resolve any issues, helping to prevent security breaches and ensure a safe browsing experience for your customers.

Automating SSL Renewals

Automation helps reduce the risk of human error and ensures continuous certificate validity. This means less potential downtime and leaving you with one less thing to worry about.

Using certificate management tools with automated renewal features makes things significantly easier. They handle most of the process, from communicating with CAs to creating new certificates and deploying them to your server.

Proper Configuration and Installation

Proper configuration and installation are another big part of managing your SSL. Improper configuration, such as incorrect certificate chains or server settings, can expose data and cause browser warnings.

Thoroughly testing and checking your installation is essential to make sure they are working as they should. If you have installed yours manually, check that it has been set up and deployed as required. If not, check with your hosting provider (they should do this correctly as soon as it’s been issued) and regularly review configurations for ongoing security.

Multiple Domains (if applicable)

If you have multiple domains or subdomains, there are some extra steps for SSL certificate management. Having a centralized management system is important for consistency and control across all domains.

A wildcard or multi-domain (SAN) certificate can simplify things by covering multiple domains with a single SSL. You should also have an inventory of all your active certificates and a monitoring system that ensures they are properly configured and renewed for all your domains.

Certificate Management Tools

When choosing a management tool, look at its functionalities and features, including automated renewals, monitoring and reporting options, ease of use, and compatibility with your existing software and hosting set-up. Some beginner-friendly options include:

Hosting Control Panels

Many web hosting control panels, like cPanel, include built-in management tools. They often provide a user-friendly interface for generating CSRs, installing SSLs, and managing renewals, which can simplify certificate management.

Online SSL Checkers

While not full management tools, online SSL checkers are beginner-friendly and a great way to learn about managing certificates. Websites like SSL Labs’ SSL Server Test can show you how yours are configured and performing while identifying any problems.

Fixing Common SSL Management Issues

Expired or Misconfigured Certificates

Expired certificates are a frequent problem, leading to browser warnings and lost traffic. This is one of the simpler ones to fix: renew the certificate.

For misconfigurations, the process requires a more detailed approach. Incorrect certificate chains, mismatched domain names, or server settings can all cause problems. Online SSL checkers can help find specific errors.

Once you have identified the issue, reinstall the certificate and ensure all necessary files are in place and your server is properly configured. Setting up automatic renewals and ensuring your initial installation is correct are the best ways to prevent these issues.

Mixed Content Warnings:

Mixed content warnings occur when a website loaded over HTTPS includes images, HTML, CSS, etc., loaded over HTTP. This creates a security issue and warning because the HTTP content can be intercepted or manipulated.

To fix this, use your browser’s developer console to identify all HTTP content on the HTTPS page and update the page URLs to use HTTPS.

Untrusted Certificate Authority

Untrusted Certificate Authority errors occur when a browser fails to recognize the CA that issued the SSL certificate. This usually happens with self-signed certificates or smaller CAs.

Always obtain certificates from well-known, trusted CAs. If using a less common one, verify its legitimacy and ensure the certificate chain is correctly installed.

FAQS

Other Blogs of Interest

– How to Get a Free Domain Name and a Free SSL Certificate

– A Simple Explanation of SSL Certificate Errors & How to Fix Them

– What Is a Multi Domain SSL Certificate?

– Secure Website Hosting: 6 Important Facts You Need To Know

– How To Secure A Website: Best Practices For Online Safety