Enterprise PKI Management for Enterprise-level Security- A Complete Guide

What is PKI?

Public Key Infrastructure, commonly referred to as PKI, is a set of policies, rules, and technologies created to facilitate secure communications between a server, such as a website, and its clients, namely its users. PKI ensures that data exchanged between multiple servers and users are secure and verifiable. PKI safeguards the confidentiality and integrity of electronically shared information with the help of encryption. PKI is the catalyst for a secure business network where all users, including staff members, clients, stakeholders, etc., can communicate and collaborate safely with each other. This blog will walk you through every detail of PKI and enterprise PKI management.

PKI depends on digital certificates for its critical processes, namely, encryption and decryption. These are used to authenticate the devices, users, browsers, etc., involved in an electronic communication or transaction. As businesses now rely on several applications, servers, devices, and users, ensuring the security and trustworthiness of sensitive data flowing through these entities has become mandatory to prevent cyber attacks. If you want to know about PKI management for enterprise-level security in APAC and MEA, then this blog is your best resource!

Components of PKI

As we know, PKI is a comprehensive system consisting of numerous essential components that work together to facilitate secure electronic communication and protect digital identities. Let us discuss the key components of the PKI system! 

Digital certificates

Digital certificates in enterprise PKI management refer to those that function like digital passports for entities that engage in online transactions. It ties a public key to an identity, validating that the public key belongs to the entity mentioned in the certificate. 

Generally, organisations create their own digital certificates for internal use. Certificates are usually acquired from a trusted third party, popularly known as a Certificate Authority or CA for commercial and external uses. The certificate issued by a CA assures third parties regarding its trustworthiness.

Certificate Authority

The Certificate Authority or CA functions as the authenticator of digital identities that may range from devices to individuals. CAs are reliable entities that issue digital certificates authenticating the legitimacy of the requesting entity.

Registration Authority

Also known as RA, Registration Authority refers to an entity the CA authorises to issue certificates to entities on a case-by-case basis. The RA serves as an intercessor between the CA and the certificate-requesting entity.

The RA manages the initial evaluation and authentication of requesting entities before they receive their certificates from the CA. The RA also handles certificate requests, issuance and revocation. It maintains a secure database for all certificate-related operations.

Dual key encryption

PKI depends on a dual-key encryption system that comprises public and private keys which are distinct from each other yet mathematically related. This dual-key encryption system supports the functionality and security of enterprise PKI management.

The public key is available to everyone and it encrypts data that is intended for the key’s owner while allowing safe data transit. The private key, on the other hand, is confidential to its owner and is used to decrypt the encrypted data to ensure that only the intended recipient of the message can access it.

Role of Enterprise PKI Management in Digital Security

Enterprise PKI management is crucial for the following:

• Secure electronic communications

• Secure electronic transactions, such as online banking

• Secure web browning (HTTPS)

• Access control systems

• Identity verification processes

Types of encryption

PKI uses a combination of asymmetric and symmetric encryption methods to offer a stringent security architecture. Asymmetric encryption uses both public and private keys for exchanging encryption keys and facilitating secure connections. It is mainly helpful for ensuring the decryption of data by only its intended recipient. However, asymmetric encryption techniques may be slower because of their complicated mathematical algorithms.

Symmetric encryption, on the other hand, uses only one key for both encryption and decryption purposes, thus enabling a more powerful, efficient, and faster method for encrypting huge data volumes after the establishment of a secure connection.

PKI Validation

Enterprise PKI management involves a crucial process known as PKI validation within the PKI framework. It confirms the trustworthiness and authenticity of digital certificates. PKI validation ensures that the digital certificate is issued by a trusted CA while representing the stated organisation or individual. 

PKI validation encompasses basic domain control checks including Domain Validation and Extended Validation. Users can believe the integrity of electronic transactions due to PKI validation. 

PKI certificates, especially the TLS/ SSL certificates, require more than just technical checking as a part of their validation process. They require a more comprehensive evaluation to ensure the legitimacy of the certificate holder’s identity.

Here are the main types of PKI validation!

• Domain Validation (DV) - DV is the simplest form of PKI validation which is used to verify that the certificate applicant controls the domain for which the certificate is requested.

• Organisation Validation (OV) - OV surpasses mere domain control and ensures the legitimacy of the certificate-requesting organisation by verifying its details such as location.

• Extended Validation (EV) - EV is the strictest form of PKI validation that includes rigorous checks, validation of the domain, organisation, legal identity of the user, etc., to establish the highest level of trust.

Importance of Enterprise PKI Management

Organisations, whether small, medium, or large-scale, maintain vast volumes of data, including financial, technical, customer, and mission-critical business data. This makes it imperative for organisations to follow PKI best practices and efficient enterprise PKI management techniques for advanced data security. Any kind of security breach or cyber attack by malicious actors can lead to hefty fines, losses worth millions, and extensive loss of business opportunities. Such fears, along with data security protocols and regulations, have made it imperative for IT professionals to implement broad encryption practices. 

We know that the safety of the encryption keys is of utmost importance. The safety of these keys ensures the safety of sensitive business data. Manual efforts directed towards the management of these keys can be operationally difficult and pose huge security risks. The deployment of encryption throughout disparate applications and systems makes it even more vulnerable to external threats. 

Enterprises struggle badly to manage the exponentially multiplying keys and certificates properly to refrain from system downtime, security breaches, and other security-related disasters. Therefore, efficient enterprise PKI management is the need of the hour for strategic management of digital certificates, keys, and everything across the digital framework. 

Common PKI Challenges

Before taking the reins of enterprise PKI management, you must identify the underlying problems associated with PKI. The common PKI challenges that need to be addressed are:

• Expired certificates - Neglecting to replace or renew digital certificates before their expiration dates can result in serious downtime and outages.

• Key security- The security of the private keys is essential to prevent illicit interception of critical data or unauthorised access to digital systems. It is never a good idea to compromise on the security of the public and private keys.

• Duty segregation - Crucial data security regulations mandate stringent management and security of cryptographic keys. The effectiveness of management processes and controls is strictly scrutinised by auditors.

• Administrative burden - Management of private keys and certificates requires about four hours per key per year. This burdens administrators and their attention is diverted from other crucial tasks while incurring huge organisational expenses.

• Quick response to compromises - If there is any compromise of a CA or any case of data breach, organisations must be prompt enough to take quick action and replace all keys and certificates.

• Roadblocks to project rollout - Inaccurate deployment and management of encryption to satisfy security requirements of new business applications and projects is likely to hamper their rollout and implementation.

Key Steps To Initiate Effective PKI Management

The basic step as part of the key and certificate management strategy is to implement a thorough inventory that covers all certificates including their locations and their respective parties to whom they belong. This task is crucial as it involves expansive certificate deployment by several users and teams. Therefore, it is never a good idea to rely solely on a single list given by a CA. 

Effective PKI management involves 4 vital steps. They are:

Import from CAs

Collate existing data regarding certificates from trusted CAs. However, it is risky to import all data from CAs as it will not provide an accurate inventory. This import is the first step that is followed by other crucial steps.

Network discovery

Implement network discovery procedures to locate certificates on listening ports like HTTPS. Initiate by collecting network address ranges that will help compile a final list of ports to examine. It is a common practice to focus on port 443, however, certificates can also be located on several other ports. Tools such as TLS Protect Cloud help identify certificates throughout the network.

Agent-based discovery

Some certificates like the certificates from the client’s side that help in mutual authentication might not be identifiable across network ports. These certificates are usually identified by implementing file system scans on client and server systems with the help of locally deployed agents.

Individual reporting by admins

Agent and network-based discovery procedures are often considered impractical and time-consuming for execution in all business locations. This makes it crucial to educate and train administrators to provide proactive reporting of all certificates that they come across. This is helpful to ensure the addition of every certificate to the inventory. 

Please remember that performing an inventory is a recurring process and not a one-time task. The above steps must be repeated weekly to ensure that the inventory is always up-to-date.

Enterprise PKI Management Best Practices

Here are the best practices for enterprise PKI management that must be followed for robust enterprise-level security!

Thorough planning

Develop a correlation of certificate owners and contacts during the process of inventory development. Assign the task to teams and not to individuals to reduce instances of single-point failure. Make use of sources such as CAs, CMDBs, and tracking spreadsheets and define responsibilities to maintain contact information of certificates.

Certificate policies

Implement a centralised monitoring function to avoid in-service expirations. This can be done by automatically sending notifications to their respective groups to replace certificates before their expiry. Downtime risks are reduced at the time of installation of the new certificate and reset of applications for use before expiry. 

It is best to send monthly expiration reports to certificate owners listing all certificates that will expire within 90 days. Individual expiry notifications can be sent in case no action is taken on a certificate within 30 days of expiry. Seek help from additional parties if no action is taken within 20 days before expiry. After 10 days post expiry, send a notification to a corporate group that is responsible for crisis response until resolution.

Certificate Practice Statement (CPS)

Implement standard practices for provisioning and enrollment to improve repeatability, reliability, security, and adherence to policies, while reducing administrative burden. About 20 or more steps are required for issuing and renewing a certificate. The certificate must be standardized and implemented in compliance with policy every time. As manual execution of these steps can result in errors, automated certificate enrollment and provisioning techniques must be implemented.

Risk assessment

You must obtain a clear understanding of the risks your organisation is vulnerable to in terms of data security. Prioritise risk assessment and impart awareness regarding the same to your team members to expedite the adoption and implementation of best practices of enterprise PKI management while ensuring all stakeholder understands the implications of non-compliance to these practices. 

Bottomline

Now that you know that enterprise PKI management is pivotal to securing sensitive business information, you should aim to invest in premium PKI management services. eMudhra offers the best PKI management for enterprise-level security in APAC and MEA offering advanced PKI-related services. We offer robust security measures that safeguard your digital landscape and facilitate the smooth flow of data across the network. If you want to know more about our range of PKI solutions, contact our team today!