SSL/TLS certificates monitoring
Inventory, monitoring and management of the entire SSL/TLS certificate chain
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 the entire 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.
Talk to us
Lukas Böttcher
Business Development Manager
P: +49-30-221986-51
Matthias Scholze
Chief Technology Officer
P: +49-30-221986-51
