How do you protect your digital certificates and keys? (2024)

FAQs

How do you protect your digital certificates and keys? ›

One of the simplest ways to protect your digital certificates and keys is to use strong passwords that are hard to guess or crack. Avoid using common words, names, dates, or sequences that can be easily found in dictionaries or online. Instead, use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

You must keep your private key secret. Typically, it never leaves the device on which it was created. If public keys are sent directly by their owner to another organization, the message can be intercepted and the public key can be substituted by a malicious third party.

Digital certificates contain a copy of a public key from the certificate holder, which needs to be matched to a corresponding private key to verify it is real. A public key certificate is issued by certificate authorities (CAs), which sign certificates to verify the identity of the requesting device or user.

If you're looking for a bulletproof way to store your private keys, then you should go with physical devices such as USB Tokens, Smart Cards, or Hardware Security Module (HSM). With hardware storage devices, the attackers must first gain access to them, which is significantly more unlikely in the real, physical world.

Another way to protect your digital certificates and keys is to store them in a secure location that only you can access. You can use a hardware device, such as a USB flash drive, a smart card, or a token, to store your keys and certificates.

How do SSL certificates work? SSL works by ensuring that any data transferred between users and websites, or between two systems, remains impossible to read. It uses encryption algorithms to scramble data in transit, which prevents hackers from reading it as it is sent over the connection.

Some of the key risks associated with digital certificates include: Certificate authority (CA) compromise: If a trusted CA is compromised, attackers can issue fake certificates for legitimate websites, which can be used to carry out man-in-the-middle attacks and steal sensitive information.

How do you preserve certificates? ›

For an SSL certificate to be valid, domains need to obtain it from a certificate authority (CA). A CA is an outside organization, a trusted third party, that generates and gives out SSL certificates. The CA will also digitally sign the certificate with their own private key, allowing client devices to verify it.

Encrypting Stored Keys

Where possible, encryption keys should themselves be stored in an encrypted form. At least two separate keys are required for this: The Data Encryption Key (DEK) is used to encrypt the data.

A CA's private key should be stored in hardware-based protection, such as a Hardware Security Module (HSM). This provides tamper-resistant secure storage. A Private key for an end entity could be stored in a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip or a USB tamper-resistant security token.

Away from windows: Your everyday keys should remain inside your home when they are not on you. That's a no-brainer. But you also have to make sure that an intruder can't fish it out of a window. Make it hard to swipe: Instead of placing your keys in a bowl, consider placing your everyday set on a hook.

Overall, while digital certificates can be hacked, proper management and monitoring can help to reduce the risk of compromise and ensure that they continue to provide effective security protections for online communications and transactions.

The use of digital certificates ensures that the signed document is authentic and cannot be tampered with. When a document is signed with a digital certificate, the certificate provides a digital signature that is attached to the document.

It also protects works that are used or distributed on the internet, such as websites, blogs, and other online content. To register this type of digital content, identify the predominant authorship and submit the claim either as a literary work, a work of the visual arts, or a work of the performing arts.