SSL/TLS certificates & certificate chains

 

SSL/TLS certificates are digital documents that confirm the identity of a website or an application and enable an encrypted connection between the server and the client. However, SSL/TLS certificates are not valid on their own, but must be part of a certificate chain that leads up to a trusted root CA certificate signed by the certificate authority (CA) itself. The certificate chain consists of the website or application certificate, one or more intermediates, and the root CA certificate. The certificates in the chain must be verified and validated to ensure security and compatibility.

Managing SSL/TLS certificates and their certificate chains is an important task for IT administrators, which has the following benefits:

Inventory SSL/TLS certificates

The inventory of all SSL/TLS certificates and their intermediate and root certificates ensures information availability as well as analyzability and auditability. A complete and always up-to-date overview of all SSL/TLS certificates and their certificate chains makes it possible to know the number, type, origin, validity and status of the certificates. This automation with Versio.io facilitates the documentation and reporting of SSL/TLS certificates and their certificate chains.

Figure: Inventoried SSL/TLS certificate in Versio.io

 

Visualization of SSL/TLS certificate chains

The visualization of certificate chains in Versio.io shows relationships and dependencies to intermediate and CA root certificates. A graphical representation of the certificate chains shows at a glance how the certificates are connected and which intermediate and root CA certificates they need to be valid. This helps identify potential problems, such as missing intermediate or root CA certificates that are not recognized by browsers or operating systems.

The following figure shows SSL/TLS certificate chains. The root CA certificate is always shown at the top and the SSL/TLS certificate of the endpoint at the bottom. In between are the intermedaite certificates.

Figure: SSL/TLS certificate chain topologies in Versio.io

 

IT Governance compliance for SSL/TLS certificates

Checking the temporal validity of the entire certificate chain enables proactive measures to avoid IT system failures. Regular monitoring of the validity of certificates and their certificate chains allows timely action to be taken before a certificate expires or becomes invalid. This prevents website or application visitors from receiving error messages or being disconnected, which can lead to loss of trust, reputation and revenue.

Figure: Verification of the IT governance of an SSL/TLS certificate in Versio.io

 

SSL/TLS certificates and their certificate chains are essential elements for the security and compatibility of a website or an application. Therefore, managing SSL/TLS certificates and their certificate chains is an important task for IT administrators, which has several advantages. With the help of Versio.io, one can perform this task efficiently and effectively, ensuring the quality and reliability of SSL/TLS certificates and their certificate chains.

 

Keywords

SSL

 

TLS

 

Certificate

 

Chain

 

Inventory

 

Topology

 

Visualization

 

Reporting

 

Governance

 

Management