In today’s software development era, security standards are given top priority to ensure the protection of applications. Organizations are focused on implementing better security solutions to safeguard communications, authenticate users and maintain data integrity.  

However, legacy PKI systems, the foundation of digital security, come with several disadvantages compared to modern PKI systems. These traditional systems often lack the flexibility, scalability and automation required to meet the evolving demands of modern enterprises. Modern PKI addresses these shortcomings by offering enhanced security, better cloud integration and improved scalability, making it the preferred choice for organizations to stand against cyber threats. 

Over the last decade, PKI has proven to be a foundation of cybersecurity, where various reputed organizations have used it to secure their products. Nowadays, Passwords can be easily compromised through phishing, brute-force attacks, or database breaches, especially if users create weak or reused passwords. Email IDs are often publicly known or guessable, which serves as a single-entry point, increasing vulnerability. Moreover, passwords are prone to human error, such as forgetting or mishandling.  

Therefore, PKI has surpassed the negatives of using email IDs and passwords for security purposes by enabling secure communication through digital certificates, which verify the identity of users or systems, mitigating phishing and credential theft risks and has become a trustable solution to many organizations. 

There is a misconception that Legacy PKI is cost-effective, but the reality is legacy PKI comes with a long list of hidden costs. We will be looking into these unanticipated costs that legacy PKI offers. 

First, let us gain some knowledge about Legacy PKI. 

What is Legacy PKI? 

Legacy Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) refers to an outdated or older implementation of PKI systems for managing digital certificates and cryptographic keys. These systems were typically designed and deployed using the technologies, standards and processes available at a particular time.    

The rigidity of legacy PKI arises from factors such as dependence on outdated cryptographic algorithms, static architectures and limited support for automation and scalability. These systems often struggle to integrate with modern frameworks like cloud environments, DevOps pipelines and IoT ecosystems, which demand dynamic and scalable security solutions. 

Key challenges of legacy PKI include the complexity of deployment and management, difficulties in scaling for large or diverse user bases, and manual certificate handling that leads to errors, inefficiencies and vulnerabilities due to outdated algorithms. 

Some of the real-life scenarios where Legacy PKI is in use include: 

Banking Token Authentication 

Bank uses PKI to secure online banking with hardware tokens that generated PKI-based authentication keys. For example, Early implementations by banks like HSBC or Barclays involved issuing physical tokens to customers for secure two-factor authentication (2FA). 

These tokens generated PKI-based authentication keys, providing enhanced security at the time. However, they represent legacy PKI due to their reliance on static, hardware-based solutions that lacked scalability and flexibility. 

Specific challenges include the high cost and logistical complexity of distributing and maintaining physical tokens for large customer bases. These systems also lacked adaptability to modern digital banking channels, such as mobile and online platforms, which demand software-based, user-friendly authentication methods.  

Furthermore, the dependency on hardware introduced usability challenges, as tokens could be lost or damaged, disrupting customer access. The lack of integration with newer technologies, automation and real-time monitoring further limited their utility, making them unsuitable for the fast-evolving needs of modern banking systems. 

VPN Authentication

Many enterprises utilized PKI for Virtual Private Network (VPN) authentication in the early 2000s to secure remote access for employees. For example, Cisco AnyConnect VPNs often relied on digital certificates issued by internal PKI to authenticate users securely. 

However, these setups are now considered legacy due to several challenges. Managing certificates was often manual and time-consuming, leading to errors like expired certificates. Scaling was difficult as workforces grew and the systems couldn’t easily adapt to modern needs like cloud integration or hybrid work setups. Outdated protocols and limited automation further reduced their effectiveness, making them unsuitable for today’s dynamic security requirements. 

Negatives of Legacy PKI  

PKI is a foundational technology that enables secure communication, authentication and data integrity by leveraging encryption and digital certificates. However, as technology evolves, Legacy PKI can become inefficient, insecure and difficult to maintain. Here are some negatives of using Legacy PKI: 

Outdated Encryption Standards 

Legacy PKI often uses older algorithms (e.g., SHA-1 or RSA with small key sizes) that may no longer meet modern security standards, making them vulnerable to attacks. 

SHA-1 is particularly risky because it is prone to collision attacks, where two different inputs can produce the same hash value. SHA-1 has not been considered secure since 2005. Moreover, NIST formally deprecated the use of SHA-1 in 2011 and declared that it should be phased out by 2030. 

Static Infrastructure 

Older PKI systems were typically built for static, predictable setups, such as internal enterprise networks, where the number of devices and users was relatively stable and limited. This architecture lacks the scalability required for modern needs like IoT, cloud integrations, or dynamic digital environments. 

For example, consider an IoT deployment with thousands of devices needing unique digital certificates for authentication. A legacy PKI system may struggle to handle the volume due to manual certificate issuance, renewal and revocation processes.  

Additionally, it might lack the ability to automate certificate management in IoT platforms. This could lead to operational inefficiencies, increased risk of expired or misconfigured certificates and delays in deploying or securing new devices. In contrast, modern PKI solutions provide dynamic scalability and automation, ensuring the latest security without overburdening administrative resources.  

Manual Certificate Management 

Legacy systems typically depend on manual processes for issuing, renewing, revoking and tracking digital certificates, which introduces several challenges and risks. These manual workflows are labor-intensive, requiring administrators to handle tasks individually for each certificate. This not only increases operational overhead but also leaves room for human errors, such as issuing certificates with incorrect configurations or failing to renew them before expiration.  

For example, in an organization with hundreds of applications and devices, an administrator might overlook renewing a critical certificate before its expiration. If that certificate expires unnoticed, it could cause a system outage, disrupt services or block user access. Additionally, if a compromised certificate is not promptly revoked, attackers could exploit it to impersonate legitimate systems or intercept sensitive communications. 

Security Vulnerabilities 

Legacy PKI systems are prone to security vulnerabilities due to their outdated architecture. One of the major issues is that they are often unpatched, leaving them exposed to known vulnerabilities. As discussed above in the article, many legacy PKI systems rely on older cryptographic algorithms like SHA-1 or RSA with small key sizes, which have been proven insecure. For example, an attacker could use the weaknesses in SHA-1 to forge digital certificates, leading to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, where attackers intercept and manipulate communication between two users without their knowledge. 

Another major vulnerability is the absence of modern security features like multi-factor authentication (MFA). Legacy PKI systems often rely on passwords to secure administrative access. This makes them highly vulnerable to credential theft, brute-force attacks and phishing. For example, if an attacker gains access to the PKI system’s administration panel using stolen credentials, they could issue fake certificates, revoke original ones or compromise the entire trust chain causing damage to the organization. 

Apart from these vulnerabilities, legacy PKI systems lack advanced features like certificate pinning and real-time monitoring. Certificate pinning ensures that only a preapproved certificate can be used to secure a connection, which helps prevent attackers from using fake certificates issued by compromised certificate authorities (CAs). Without pinning, an attacker could exploit misissued certificates to impersonate a trusted entity, such as a bank or an e-commerce website. Similarly, not monitoring certificate misuse can lead to suspicious activities such as the issuance of unexpected certificates. For example, without monitoring, an attacker could create unknown certificates to intercept all traffic on a domain causing a significant threat to data confidentiality and integrity. 

These vulnerabilities underscore why legacy PKI systems are inadequate for securing modern digital environments. Therefore, PKI solutions with strong encryption, MFA, certificate pinning and real-time monitoring are critical to mitigate these risks and maintain a secure infrastructure. 

Compliance Issues

Legacy PKI systems fail to meet modern compliance requirements like GDPR, HIPAA and PCI DSS due to outdated technologies, insufficient controls and a lack of good reporting mechanisms. These gaps can lead to non-compliance penalties, reputational damage and security vulnerabilities.  

Let’s do a detailed analysis of how Legacy PKI systems struggle with each compliance standard. 

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 

GDPR mandates the protection of personal data for individuals, requiring secure encryption, data access controls and timely breach reporting. Legacy PKI systems, which rely on outdated cryptographic algorithms (e.g., SHA-1 or RSA with small key sizes), cannot ensure secure encryption to protect personal data during transmission or storage. The lack of real-time monitoring in legacy PKI means organizations may not detect or respond to certificate misuse or data breaches in a timely manner, violating GDPR’s 72-hour breach notification rule. 

Example: A healthcare organization using a legacy PKI might fail to secure patient records due to an expired certificate, exposing sensitive data to unauthorized access. This could result in massive fines under GDPR. 

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

HIPAA requires organizations to handle healthcare data by implementing encryption, access controls and audit trails to protect patient information. Legacy PKI systems lack support for strong encryption protocols like TLS 1.3 and fail to provide proper logging or tracking of certificate activities. They may also rely on manual certificate management, increasing the risk of human errors, such as leaving certificates unrenewed, which can lead to data exposure. 

Example: A hospital relying on a legacy PKI system for securing its communication might face a data breach if attackers exploit weak encryption or an expired certificate to access electronic health records, violating HIPAA requirements. 

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

PCI DSS mandates strong encryption and secure certificate management to protect cardholder data during payment processing. Legacy PKI systems struggle to meet these requirements because of their reliance on outdated encryption methods, lack of automation and poor visibility into the certificate lifecycle. Without features like automated renewal and revocation, expired certificates could expose payment systems to risks such as man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks or unauthorized access. 

Example: A retail company using a legacy PKI system for securing payment transactions might fail a PCI DSS audit if an expired SSL/TLS certificate exposes customer credit card data to attackers during a transaction. 

Additional Challenges in Legacy PKI 

Meeting New PKI Standards

Validation of evolving PKI best practices such as Key Rotation, Certificate Lifecycle management, strong authentication methods and certificate transparency is critical for both security and continuity of operations. However, industry standards, such as PCI DSS, SCEP, NIST and ISO, have heavy requirements that are challenging to manage. Even a single lapse, such as the expiration of a certificate, can cause considerable disruption, such as an application outage. 

For example, in December 2021, a major outage at Spotify, Slack and AWS services was traced back to an expired certificate. The expiration disrupted services for millions of users, causing critical downtime for organizations relying on these platforms. Such incidents show the importance of automated PKI management processes to ensure that certificate renewals and deployments happen without errors or delays. 

For many PKI teams, the management and enforcement of these standards appear to be an impossible task. Manual processes can lead to wasted hours and higher chances of making mistakes. Moreover, fragmented approaches to PKI management increase vulnerabilities, which only adds to the compliance challenge. A set of best practice frameworks and a proactive, structured approach are required to prevent and combat these risks. 

Vulnerabilities in Legacy PKI Systems 

Legacy PKI systems are inadequate to meet today’s security and operational requirements. They commonly fail to service modern business applications that demand security, scalability and convenience. Let’s consider that if legacy PKIs struggle to implement multi-factor authentication efficiently, the chances of falling victim to password-based attacks or other security breaches are higher. 

In addition, there is an overall problem of lack of crypto agility in legacy systems. In cases of compromise of certificate authorities or where encryption algorithms become obsolete, you are required to quickly perform active batch replacement of the keys and certificates. However, legacy PKIs are typically ill-equipped to execute these replacements quickly, leaving organizations exposed to unnecessary risks. 

Such vulnerabilities demonstrate the shortfalls of outdated PKI infrastructures and highlight the necessity of modern solutions that are agile, scalable and capable of being adopted to meet evolving security challenges effectively. 

Inadequate PKI Expertise 

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) management is a specialized skill that is becoming both rare and expensive to acquire. Holding onto good IT and security talent is already a barrier for many organizations. Without the necessary expertise, teams are often forced to manage PKI systems alongside their primary responsibilities which not only drains valuable resources but also introduces substantial risks. 

PKI mismanagement creates errors, misconfigurations and vulnerabilities that compromise an organization’s security. At worst, organizations wind up delegating PKI responsibilities to the wrong people, e.g., data entry staff, resulting in severe security failures. PKI systems are more prone to errors without trained professionals to help manage them, leading to further vulnerabilities that hurt both the organization’s security and efficiency. 

To handle these challenges, organizations can invest in dedicated PKI training programs to upskill their internal teams with externally managed PKI service providers. Managed services ensure PKI systems are handled by experienced professionals by reducing the risk of errors while allowing internal teams to focus on their own responsibilities. This approach maintains security, streamlines operations and provides confidence in managing risks in a complex environment. 

Outdated PKI Systems 

Legacy PKI systems, which have an age of decades, are unable to keep pace with today’s fast-changing and complex business environment. As these systems are outdated, they are in need of urgent updates. As a result, failing to refresh aging PKI infrastructure can significantly impact organizational competitiveness and potential loss of revenue through prolonged downtime and system outages. 

Current encryption methods could be easily breached or compromised in the post-quantum world. These obsolete systems make organizations susceptible to security breaches showing that organizations must prioritize on upgrading their PKI solutions to secure themselves and keep a competitive edge. 

Financial Burden of Managing Legacy PKI 

Keeping up with PKI still comes with a significant financial burden to organizations. Organizations must source and maintain equipment such as servers, hardware security modules (HSMs) and load balancers. The problem is that these resources need to be maintained, which adds an overhead cost. Moreover, deploying and configuring this infrastructure is a time-consuming and manual process that distracts valuable human and financial resources from other core business functions. 

Legacy PKI infrastructure is also becoming a more expensive everyday solution due to the cumulative cost of maintaining it. Once organizations become larger and their needs become more complex, the financial and operational burden of managing outdated PKI systems can quickly outweigh the benefits, prompting the need for modernization or outsourcing. 

Insufficient PKI Scalability 

With organizations adopting new systems and practices such as microservices, containerization and DevOps over the coming years, the demand for secure machine-to-machine connectivity also increases. Unfortunately, legacy PKI systems do not scale well to support these requirements, making it difficult to extend authentication to cloud-native workloads. The fact that the current solution cannot scale means that the possibility of drift is increased, which comes at the cost of being able to deploy new applications and services. 

The inability of legacy PKI to adapt to the complexities of modern IT infrastructures leads to delays in rolling out innovative projects. As a result, businesses may experience setbacks in their ability to stay competitive and maintain operational efficiency. This highlights the urgent need for scalable and modern PKI solutions that can keep up with evolving business needs and technology advancements. 

Evolution of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) 

The evolution of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) can be categorized into three main phases, each marked by specific use cases and technological advancements: 

Internet PKI

Historically, organizations used PKI to secure their external-facing applications and websites in the early Internet days. Public Certificate Authorities (CAs) such as VeriSign (now DigiCert) and Comodo would provide SSL/TLS certificates to ensure trust. For example, e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay use these certificates to bypass specific threats such as man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks and data interception ensuring that customer transactions and sensitive information like credit card details are transmitted securely.  

While this approach helped mitigate critical security risks, the adoption of Internet PKI was limited due to several challenges. The high cost of obtaining certificates from a small pool of trusted CAs made it difficult for smaller organizations to implement strong security measures. The process of managing these certificates was manual and complex, lacking automation in tasks such as renewal and revocation. These challenges increased the risk of expired or misconfigured certificates, which could lead to security vulnerabilities. 

Enterprise PKI

As organizations recognized the importance of securing internal networks and reducing their dependence on costly public CAs, the focus shifted toward implementing PKI internally. This transition allowed enterprises to address the limitations of Internet PKI by taking greater control of certificate issuance and management while meeting the growing demands of expanding networks.  

As enterprise networks expanded, PKI was utilized internally to secure user authentication, network devices and access control systems. For example, organizations implemented PKI to manage Wi-Fi security with 802.1X authentication and to enable secure remote access through VPNs. Internal PKI setups, such as Microsoft’s Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), reduced dependency on public CAs and allowed enterprises to issue and manage their certificates, cutting costs significantly. 

However, as the technology expanded with cloud computing, IoT devices and mobile technologies, enterprise PKI faced challenges in scalability, automation and integration with these emerging technologies. 

Next-Generation PKI

The limitations of enterprise PKI, particularly in managing the dynamic demands of cloud environments, mobile technologies and IoT ecosystems, demanded a shift to modern, automated and scalable PKI solutions. 

Modern PKI solutions are now integrated into ecosystems, such as AWS Certificate Manager for securing cloud services, Apple HomeKit for authenticating IoT devices and mobile device management (MDM) platforms to protect mobile endpoints. These advancements address the scalability and bridge the automation gaps of earlier PKI systems while introducing features with dynamic and interconnected ecosystems.  

For example, electric vehicle manufacturers use PKI to authenticate charging stations and vehicles securely. The process is known as “Plug and Charge” which allows secure communication ensuring that only authorized vehicles can access charging services. The system operates by issuing unique digital certificates to both vehicles and charging stations, facilitating mutual authentication upon connection. This method not only enhances security but also simplifies the user experience by automating the authentication and billing processes. 

Hidden Costs of Legacy PKI 

It seems like the operational costs of legacy PKI are very effective, but when it comes to reality checks, some anticipated costs make it a poor choice for today’s generation.

Hardware Costs 

In a legacy PKI, hardware plays a critical role in managing and securing cryptographic keys and digital certificates. Total hardware cost estimation is around $315K, which includes the cost of servers, load balancers, databases and HSMs to ensure redundancy and high availability. 

If we split each hardware cost estimation, it comes out to be: 

CA Servers: A large-scale PKI requires approximately 30 servers. These 30 servers include 10 production CA servers, 10 development CA servers and 10 backup and recovery servers. Each server costs around $3.5K, which results in a total of around $105K. 

HSM Servers: Hardware Security Module (HSM) Server is a critical part of a PKI. It is a physical computing device that safeguards and manages secrets (most importantly, digital keys). A large-scale PKI requires around 4 HSM servers of $35K each, totaling around $140K. 

Load Balancers: A load balancer is a device or service that distributes network traffic across multiple servers. A large-scale PKI requires at least 2 Load balancers. The estimated cost of each Load Balancer is around $20K, which makes a total of $40K for load balancers. 

SQL Databases: To store the data, any firm would require a database and a large organization can depend just on 1 SQL server. About 4 SQL Servers are required in a large-scale PKI, which costs $15K per 2-core pack, making around $30K for four servers. 

Resources Costs 

As mentioned above, many servers and hardware modules are required in Legacy PKI, which directly or indirectly increases resource costs. This includes the cost of support and maintenance team. Approximately $372.5K is required to maintain your Legacy PKI properly. 

Here is the breakdown of the total estimated Resource cost of Legacy PKI: 

PKI Team: In organizations with large-scale legacy PKI systems, the PKI team plays a pivotal role in managing, maintaining and securing the infrastructure. Due to outdated technologies and manual processes, any organization would require a well-established PKI team to handle their complex PKI. The major resource cost in this sector is around $315K. 

Rest of the Team: Legacy PKI is a bit more complex than modern PKI technologies and some other trained professionals are required to perform various minor tasks. The rest of the team includes the IT Administration, IT CA Administration and IT Integration.  

• The IT Administration includes the members responsible for the overall health and operations of the IT infrastructure, including PKI components. The estimated cost of the IT Administration team is nearly $12.5K. 
• The IT CA Administration team manages Certificate Authorities (CAs) and their associated components within the legacy PKI. The IT CA Administration team’s estimated cost is about $20K. 
• The IT Integration team ensures that the legacy PKI system works seamlessly with other systems, such as cloud environments and IoT platforms. The estimated cost of the IT integration team is nearly $25K. 

As mentioned, a long list of hidden charges in a Legacy PKI goes unnoticed most of the time. These hidden costs make the modern PKI solutions far better than the Legacy PKI. 

Why are Modern PKI solutions better than Legacy PKI? 

Modern PKI solutions have evolved to solve the limitations and challenges posed by legacy systems. While legacy PKI often relies on manual processes, outdated technology and limited scalability, modern solutions leverage features such as automation, scalability, security and cost-effectiveness to meet the demands of the organization. With organizations managing an increasing number of certificates, users and devices, modern PKI provides the flexibility, efficiency and better user experience needed to ensure seamless and secure operations, making it far superior to traditional approaches. 

Here are some major features of modern PKI that make it far more beneficial than legacy PKI. 

Automation 

One of the standout features of modern PKI solutions is automation, which significantly improves efficiency and reduces the risk of human error compared to legacy PKI systems. In Legacy PKI, certificate lifecycle management, including issuance, renewal, revocation and replacement, often involves manual processes. These tasks require constant oversight from IT teams leading to wasted time, increased operational costs and a higher chance of misconfigurations or expired certificates. 

Modern PKI solutions, on the other hand, automate these processes, ensuring certificates are managed seamlessly and without human intervention. For example, modern PKI platforms can automatically detect expiring certificates and renew them before they lapse, avoiding service disruptions. 

Example: In 2021, Microsoft Teams suffered a temporary outage due to an expired SSL certificate, highlighting the risks of manual certificate management. A modern PKI solution with automation would have detected the approaching expiration, renewed the certificate and updated it in the system without requiring manual input. This capability not only ensures uninterrupted service but also frees up IT resources to focus on higher-priority tasks. 

Scalability 

Modern PKI solutions excel in scalability, addressing the limitations of legacy PKI systems when managing a growing number of users, devices and applications. Legacy PKI systems are often built with static architectures and manual processes that struggle to adapt to the dynamic needs of modern enterprises. As organizations expand, legacy systems can become overburdened, leading to delays, errors and higher operational costs. 

In contrast, modern PKI solutions are designed to scale seamlessly with organizational growth. They leverage cloud-based infrastructure and dynamic provisioning, enabling organizations to handle large volumes of certificates across diverse environments, including IoT devices, remote workforces and hybrid IT systems. This flexibility ensures that certificate issuance, renewal and management remain efficient, even as the number of endpoints increases exponentially. 

Example: Consider a large organization deploying thousands of IoT devices across multiple regions. A legacy PKI system would struggle to handle this scale due to its feature of manual certificate provisioning and its inability to integrate with modern IoT platforms. In contrast, a modern PKI solution can automatically manage certificates for all devices in real-time by using APIs and cloud-native technologies. This ensures secure communication between devices without operational bottlenecks even if the deployment scales into the millions. 

Security 

Modern PKI solutions provide enhanced security features that address the gaps and vulnerabilities often found in legacy PKI systems. Legacy PKI systems were designed for simpler environments and lacked the advanced security mechanisms required to protect against modern threats such as cyberattacks, phishing and key compromise. Additionally, legacy systems often depend on manual processes, which increase the chance of human error, misconfigurations and delayed responses to security incidents. 

Modern PKI solutions, on the other hand, incorporate strong security measures such as hardware security modules (HSMs), certificate transparency logs, automated key rotation and secure certificate storage. They also use advanced encryption algorithms such as Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), SHA-256 and SHA-3, RSA with longer key lengths (2048-bit or 3072-bit) and emerging Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms and integrate seamlessly with modern security tools like SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems to detect and respond to threats in real-time. These features ensure that certificates are not only managed securely but also meet compliance standards for evolving regulatory requirements. 

Example: In 2019, the massive Capital One data breach exposed sensitive customer data due to the misuse of compromised credentials. With a modern PKI solution, organizations can implement stronger authentication mechanisms, such as certificate-based authentication, which eliminates reliance on passwords and prevents such breaches. Additionally, automated certificate revocation and renewal features in modern PKI would have enabled Capital One to mitigate risks associated with compromised keys quickly. 

Cost-Effectiveness 

Modern PKI solutions are more cost-effective than legacy systems due to their automation, cloud-based infrastructure and streamlined management processes. Legacy PKI systems often require high investments in hardware, manual processes for certificate management and expensive infrastructure maintenance. As organizations scale, these costs increase and managing a large number of certificates becomes more difficult, leading to inefficiencies. 

In contrast, modern PKI solutions reduce operational costs by automating tasks such as certificate issuance, renewal and revocation. Cloud-based solutions eliminate the need for costly on-premises infrastructure, while advanced security features help minimize the risk of breaches and reduce the costs related to security incidents. 

Example: Consider a company that has been using a legacy PKI system to manage certificates for its internal network and multiple web applications. The organization must employ an entire team to manually manage the certificates, perform renewals and troubleshoot issues. As the organization grows and the number of certificates increases, the costs associated with maintaining the legacy system rise exponentially. 

By switching to a modern, cloud-based PKI solution, the company can automate most of these tasks, reducing the need for manual intervention and lowering labor costs. The cloud solution also offers scalability; therefore, the company doesn’t need to invest in expensive infrastructure as it expands. 

User Experience 

Modern PKI solutions provide a much better user experience than legacy systems primarily due to their user-friendly interfaces and smooth integrations with other systems. Legacy PKI systems involve complex manual processes and require users to navigate through multiple outdated tools, making tasks such as certificate management and renewal difficult and prone to errors. 

In contrast, modern PKI solutions offer user-friendly dashboards, simplified workflows and automation that increases user experience. They integrate easily with other systems and services, allowing users to manage certificates, renewals and security systems in a centralized and user-friendly environment. Additionally, modern PKI platforms often provide self-service portals for end-users to manage their certificates, reducing the burden on IT teams and improving overall efficiency. 

Example: A financial institution using a legacy PKI solution may require its employees to manually request certificates and go through several approval stages and wait for IT to install and configure them. This process is slow, error-prone and frustrating for users. In contrast, with a modern PKI solution, employees can use a self-service portal to request, renew and install their certificates with minimal involvement from IT. The system automatically handles approval workflows, reducing waiting times and improving productivity.  

How does Encryption Consulting help? 

Encryption Consulting comes with a solution of PKIaaS (PKI – as – a – Service). We offer you a customizable and high-assurance PKI that is built to the highest standards. It is a low-risk managed solution that provides you with full control of your PKI without worrying about the complexity. 

Encryption Consulting offers a comprehensive Certificate Lifecycle Management solution, CertSecure Manager. From certificate discovery and inventory management to issuance, deployment, renewal, revocation and reporting, CertSecure delivers a complete solution. With features like intelligent report generation, automated alerts, seamless deployment to servers and certificate enrollment, CertSecure enhances efficiency and sophistication, making it a powerful and adaptable tool for managing certificates. 

Encryption Consulting’s PKI advisory services simplify the complexities of your PKI. We bring our expertise in designing, implementing, managing and migrating PKI systems and providing consulting to organizations in various industries such as banking, manufacturing, retail, energy, health and life science. 

Conclusion 

Legacy PKI systems were the foundation of cybersecurity in the past, but the hidden costs made them less popular among cybersecurity specialists. From high hardware and resources expenses to inefficiencies in security, scalability, automation and integration, legacy PKI becomes a financial and operational burden for the organization. 

On the other hand, modern PKI systems and solutions seem more cost-efficient and achievable. It provides high-security measures with modern and efficient encryption and hashing algorithms like RSA with SHA-2 (SHA-256 or SHA-384). With Encryption Consulting’s PKIaaS and advisory solutions, you can easily migrate your legacy PKI to a strong, scalable and secure PKI that will fulfill your organization’s security needs. 

The rapid adoption of IoT devices and their advancement over the past decades has transformed daily life, offering unparalleled convenience and connectivity. However, this growing reliance on IoT has also brought about an increase in security breaches, highlighting the urgent need for better protective measures. Sensitive data, cloud technologies, and a huge number of electronic smart devices are connected through the internet, providing a cybercriminal with a large area to attack. Hence, it became an urgent necessity to safeguard these IoT devices as they play a vital role in one’s life. 

Introduction

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for the Internet of Things (IoT) is a way to provide security in IoT environments. It uses digital certificates and cryptographic keys to ensure secure communication among IoT devices. PKI manages authenticity, confidentiality, and data integrity among the devices in an IoT ecosystem. 

Here is a brief of how PKI is involved in security concerns of the IoT ecosystem: 

Authentication 

Authentication in the IoT ecosystem is all about Access Control. If an IoT device gains access to your network, there is a huge possibility that the user of that device also has access to all the data you are sharing on that network. Hence, it is necessary to secure the authentication process in the IoT ecosystem so that only the right devices can have access to the right resource or data on the network. 

Encryption 

IoT devices carry a lot of sensitive information that requires encryption processes to ensure data confidentiality. Various threats could occur when implementing a poor encryption process. Some of them can be data breaches, Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks, data tempering, etc. 

Data Integrity 

Data integrity plays a vital role in an IoT environment. It ensures that the data created, transmitted, and saved by IoT devices is true, uniform, and unchanged during its lifecycle. If left unchecked, this non-compliance can lead to massive system failures, data loss, financial losses, and, more importantly, incorrect decision-making.  

Secure Communication (EST)

Enrollment over Secure Transport (EST) is a key enabler of secure communication in the IoT ecosystem, automating the provisioning, renewal, and management of PKI certificates. EST is described in RFC 7030, and it facilitates automated certificate issuance, renewal, and management by securely exchanging information between clients and Certificate Authorities (CAs) via TLS, eliminating the need for shared secrets or passwords used in older protocols like Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP). 

Why are IoT devices more Vulnerable than Traditional Electronic Devices? 

IoT Devices are more vulnerable than traditional electronic devices for the following reasons. 

Lack of Security 

Some IoT devices lack security issues to maintain low costs in the market. Sometimes, security standards are compromised to maintain the affordability of the product or device. 

In 2024, a study revealed that certain TP-Link Tapo devices, such as smart bulbs and plugs, contained vulnerabilities that allowed attackers to extract sensitive information, including user credentials and Wi-Fi network details. These weaknesses could enable unauthorized access to users’ networks and devices.

High Interconnectivity and Access points 

IoT devices are generally designed to communicate with each other, resulting in a highly interconnected environment. A breach in one device may lead a hacker to exploit the entire network, as IoT devices trust each other in a network by default. 

A vulnerability in Kia’s web portal allowed attackers to reassign control of Kia vehicle’s internet-connected features from the owner’s smartphone to their own devices. It gave them the ability to track the vehicle, unlock the vehicle’s doors, honk the horn, or even start the vehicle’s ignition system, showing the dangers of interconnectivity in IoT systems in modern vehicles. 

Use of Default or Weak credentials 

Users either do not change the default usernames and passwords of IoT devices or use weak passwords instead. Attackers can access devices without hacking techniques because these default credentials are easy to guess. 

In September 2024, The Raptor Train botnet compromised over 200,000 devices, including routers and IP cameras, by exploiting default or weak passwords. This large-scale attack underscores the risks associated with not updating factory-set credentials. 

Physical Accessibility and Tempering 

Most IoT devices are mounted in public or remote areas, making them very vulnerable to being accessed for tampering by attackers. A physical attack may make the attackers able to alter, change, or even add the malevolent codes into the gadget at hand, thus leaving the integrity exposed and leaving other integrated systems on the risk verge. 

For instance, there are real-life attacks regarding physical tempering, like the Smart Lock Fingerprint attack in 2022, where researchers showed that some smart lock devices could get your fingerprint without your knowledge. In particular, the “Droplock” attack required the physical tempering of the devices to collect biometric data, undermining security. 

Delayed Security updates 

Most of the present IoT devices tend to receive relatively fewer software updates than more conventional electronic devices, such as laptops and phones, which are often updated with new security patches by the manufacturers. 

In August 2024, a well-known vulnerability was found in AVTECH IP cameras, a flaw initially discovered in 2018 and actively exploited to spread the Mirai malware, which targets IoT devices to form botnets for large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. The lack of timely security updates on these devices allowed the attack to persist for years, resulting in compromised devices being used to orchestrate DDoS attacks that overwhelmed targeted servers, causing significant service outages, financial losses for businesses, and disruptions to consumers relying on affected services. 

What are the Key Security Requirements for IoT? 

Some of the security requirements for IoT devices to maintain confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data are: 

Authentication 

It is one of the mechanisms of security that only allows bodies to have access to or be able to read the sent or stored data. IoT devices use various authentication mechanisms, such as fingerprint, face, or Retina scans, collectively known as biometrics or digital certificates, to verify users and devices. 

Various IoT devices in today’s world maintain the standards of high-end authentication and keep the devices secure from unauthenticated users. Some examples are the Amazon Echo Show, enabled with 2-factor authentication (2FA), and the Apple HomePod Mini, which requires an Apple ID to log in with 2FA. Tesla IoT features that require fingerprint or facial recognition through the Tesla app to access connected devices and many more. 

Authorization

It is necessary to maintain control permissions and access levels to ensure that each device can perform authorized actions only. Access control can be obtained by using Role-Based access control (RBAC) mechanisms. 

Various organizations have high-end authorization mechanisms for their products. Some of them are: 

Cisco Meraki MX Security Appliances: According to Cisco Meraki Docs, it comes with an RBAC mechanism where the Administrator can assign different roles (e.g., viewer, editor, admin) to users, limiting what each user can access or modify. 

Microsoft Azure Sphere IoT Security Platform: As per Microsoft Azure, Azure Sphere uses PKI to authenticate and authorize devices within the PKI ecosystem. Each Azure Sphere device is provisioned with a unique, unforgeable cryptographic key at the time of manufacturing, which is used to create a device certificate. This certificate is chained to a catalog-level certificate and ultimately to a Microsoft certificate, establishing a chain of trust. The Azure Sphere Security Service employs these certificates to verify device identities and ensure that only authenticated devices can access the network, thereby maintaining the integrity and security of the IoT ecosystem. 

Data Integrity 

It guarantees that the data has not been interfered with or modified while in transit or at rest. To ensure the authenticity and integrity of data, techniques such as hashing (SHA-256, SHA-3) and digital signatures are applied. 

Hashing generates a unique fixed-length hash value for a given input, which changes entirely if the original data is altered, making it a reliable method for verifying data integrity during transmission or storage. Digital signatures further enhance security by combining hashing and encryption; the sender creates a signature by encrypting the hash of the data with their private key, and the receiver decrypts it with the sender’s public key to verify both the data’s integrity and the sender’s authenticity. 

Here are a few organizations that employ different methods to protect data integrity on their IoT devices: 

AWS IoT Core: According to Amazon AWS Docs, AWS uses the SHA-256 algorithm to generate message digests for data transmission. ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) provides compact and efficient signing for IoT devices. 

Various other organizations are using SHA-2 family hashing algorithms to generate message digests and different digital signature algorithms like RSA-2048, DSA, ECDSA, etc. Google Cloud IoT Core, CISCO IoT Threat defense, and Samsung SmartThings Platform are some real-life examples where high-quality data integrity is maintained. 

Secure Communication protocols 

IoT devices should use secure protocols for transmitting and storing data. As IoT devices often operate in interconnected environments, they are vulnerable to a wide range of cyber threats, including data interception, unauthorized access, and tampering. Employing secure communication protocols such as HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), TLS/SSL (Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer), and DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security) helps protect data in transit by encrypting it, thus preventing attackers from reading or modifying the information exchanged between devices and servers. 

Let’s explore a few industry-leading projects in the IoT space and their strategies for implementing strong security measures to ensure secure communication among devices and agents. 

Smart Singapore: Initiatives for Singapore to use IoT devices at the Urban Level. It also includes smart lighting, waste management, and surveillance systems. By implementing HTTPS and SSL/TLS protocols, Singapore preserves the privacy and integrity of information associated with traffic management, public safety, and environmental monitoring while securely transmitting data collected across multiple sensors. 

Industrial IoT Deployment by Siemens: Siemens has integrated IoT devices within its manufacturing processes to monitor equipment performance and optimize operations. Using DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security) and TLS/SSL, Siemens ensures that data exchanged between machinery and central control systems is encrypted, preventing unauthorized access and potential industrial espionage. 

Secure Boot and Firmware Updates

IoT devices must ensure they boot securely and are protected from physical tempering and loading malicious firmware. This is because a secure boot can check for malicious firmware before the device starts up. Regular updates via cryptographically signed packages can keep devices secure for a long time. 

Some of the real-life examples that are implemented by various organizations are: 

Secure Boot Mechanism for IoT Firmware Updates: A leading organization in digital security solutions has developed a secure boot mechanism designed to protect IoT devices from malicious firmware tampering. 

They implemented public-key cryptography to manage secure keys, ensuring only authorized entities can access and update firmware. Firmware updates are digitally signed using secure keys, verifying their authenticity and integrity. They also ensure that only valid firmware is executed, preventing malicious code from running on the device. 

By implementing this secure boot mechanism, the organization enhances the security of IoT devices, ensuring that firmware updates are genuine and have not been tampered with, thereby reducing the risk of malware attacks. 

Microsoft’s Azure Sphere for IoT Device Security: Azure Sphere is a comprehensive IoT security solution developed by Microsoft, consisting of a secured microcontroller unit (MCU), a custom Linux-based operating system, and a cloud-based security service. 

Azure Sphere MCUs implement a hardware-based root of trust, ensuring that devices boot securely and only run genuine, untampered firmware. It provides automatic, secure updates to the operating system and applications, ensuring devices remain protected against emerging threats. 

By providing an end-to-end security solution with secure boot and automated firmware updates, Azure Sphere helps protect IoT devices from physical tampering and malicious software, ensuring long-term device security. 

What are the advantages of Introducing a PKI to IoT Devices? 

Introducing PKI into the IoT ecosystem offers numerous advantages for secure device communication. Here are some practical applications for the PKI in IoT. 

Strong Authentication 

Case Study: Global Manufacturer’s Journey to Automating PKI 

Overview: A prominent international devices producer struggled to manage PKI security in the breadth and depth of its complex network of IoT devices. The manual processes were time-consuming and prone to errors, leading to potential security vulnerabilities. 

Implementation: The manufacturer collaborated with a leading PKI services provider and automated PKI processes, so every IoT device was provisioned with a unique digital certificate, enabling them to authenticate properly. This reduced the risk of unauthorized device access and streamlined certificate issuance and management. 

Outcome: The automated PKI solution improved the security of the manufacturer’s IoT ecosystem by minimizing the device threats associated with devices communicating within the network based on authentication. These would include maximized operational efficiency with minimal risk of human error when managing certificates. 

Data Confidentiality through Encryption 

Example: Securing IoT Devices with PKI 

Overview: IoT devices commonly send sensitive data over networks, so the use of encryption is critical to protect against eavesdropping and data breaches. 

Implementation: Organizations can implement PKI technology as a solution by setting up asymmetric key pairs to encrypt IoT device data ocean. Here, each device is assigned a pair of private and public keys, which are used for the encryption and decryption of data. 

Outcome: Hence, even if the data transmission is intercepted, the transmitted information is not readable to any person who does not have the key. The strong encryption mechanisms of PKI help to ensure data privacy in IoT communications. 

Data Integrity with Digital Signatures 

Example: Ensuring Data Integrity in IoT Communications 

Overview: Ensuring data integrity is critical in IoT ecosystems to prevent malicious interference with commands and data. 

Implementation: PKI supports the use of digital signatures, which authenticate and ensure the integrity of data being exchanged. For example, when an IoT device sends data, it signs the data with its private key. The receiving party can then use the public of the device to verify that the data has not been modified. 

Outcome: Digital signatures provide assurance that the data received is exactly as sent, preventing unauthorized modifications and ensuring trust in IoT communications.  

Support for Secure Device Updates

Example: Secure Firmware Updates in IoT Devices 

Overview: Regular firmware updates are very important for IoT devices as they allow devices to fix vulnerabilities and add and improve features. Unsecured update mechanisms, however, can be used to install malicious software. 

Implementation: Use PKI to allow the device to accept only digitally signed firmware updates that come from authorized sources. During installation, the device checks the digital signature applied by the firm using the public key that was obtained from a trusted source. 

Outcome: This process prevents unauthorized or malicious firmware from being installed, maintains the device’s security, and protects against potential cyber-attacks.  

Compliance with Regulatory Standards

Example: PKI in Healthcare IoT Devices 

Overview: Healthcare organizations are subject to numerous regulatory guidelines, such as HIPAA, enforcing the protection of patient data. 

Implementation: With PKI-integrated IoT medical devices, healthcare providers will be able to deliver strong encryption, data integrity, and authentication. Digital certificates authenticate device identities and protect patient data in transit, which are both aligned with regulatory compliance. 

Outcome: Implementing PKI helps healthcare organizations meet compliance standards, protect sensitive patient information, and establish trust in their IoT medical devices. 

Why choose Managed PKI over in-house PKI? 

In today’s fast-paced digital world, businesses need secure and efficient solutions to manage device identities and safeguard sensitive data. Managed PKI offers a streamlined and scalable alternative to the time-consuming and resource-intensive process of setting up an in-house PKI. Below are the key advantages that make Managed PKI the smarter choice for organizations. 

Speed and Growth Flexibility

Managed PKI is like having a pre-built security system ready to go. Instead of building everything from scratch, which takes time and money, you can start using it right away. Plus, it’s super flexible like renting an office that grows or shrinks with your business needs. You can easily scale up security or trim it down based on your goals. 

Special Hardware Security Management

Managed PKI includes fancy hardware called HSMs (Hardware Security Modules) that act like high-tech safes for your secret keys and codes. The best part? You don’t need to spend a ton buying these yourself. With a managed PKI, you get all the benefits of secure hardware without the huge upfront costs. 

Certificate Management 

Every device in your system needs a digital ID, like a badge, to prove it belongs. Managed PKI takes care of creating, updating, and even canceling these IDs when needed, just like an automated HR system for security badges. It also keeps a list of “bad badges” so no one can sneak in. 

Secure Facilities and Insider Threat Protection 

The managed PKI providers have super-secure buildings, like fortresses, to protect their systems. They use security measures such as fingerprint scanners, cameras, and even guards to keep everything safe. They also have strict rules to prevent insider threats, like requiring multiple people to approve sensitive actions and running background checks on employees. 

Advanced Device Identities

Managed PKI can provide extra-smart digital IDs for devices. Imagine a super badge that not only proves who you are but also tells what you’re allowed to do and can check if your software is safe. These advanced IDs are perfect for IoT devices that need more than basic security. 

Flexible Provisioning Options

Managed PKI lets you set up device security in two ways:

• Factory Provisioning: This is like giving devices their IDs during manufacturing and securely storing the info right inside them.
• Cloud-Based Provisioning: Think of this as giving devices a temporary ID (a “starter badge”) at the factory. Later, once the device is in use, it gets its full secure ID remotely through the cloud. This makes managing devices across different locations much easier.

Certificate Authority Oversight

Managed PKIs follow strict rules set by organizations like WebTrust to ensure they’re doing everything right. It’s like having a third-party inspector who makes sure your security is top-notch and follows all the best practices. 

How can you manage PKIs for IoT? 

Managing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for Internet of Things (IoT) devices is essential to ensure secure communication, authentication, and data integrity within the IoT ecosystem.

Automated Certificate Lifecycle Management 

Issuing, distributing, revoking, and renewing a certificate through an automated system helps to reduce human errors and increase security. By automating this process, fresh and unexpired certificates or TLS connections with customers will be used while minimizing the chances of expired certificates. 

However, real-world scenarios reveal various challenges. One common issue is incorrect configuration, where automation pipelines may be set up improperly, leading to failed renewals or distribution of invalid certificates. Similarly, renewal failures can occur due to network issues, misconfigured permissions, or external dependencies, such as relying on third-party services. 

Automating the removal of compromised certificates is often ignored, which can delay updates and leave systems at risk. Older systems add to the challenge because they may not work with modern protocols or encryption standards, causing trust issues with new certificates. Relying too much on automation without proper monitoring and alerts can make organizations unaware of certificate problems, like failures or expirations, until they cause disruptions. 

Encryption Consulting’s CertSecure Manager 

Encryption Consulting offers a certificate lifecycle management solution that automates the entire certificate lifecycle process, ensuring IoT devices maintain valid and secure certificates without manual intervention.  

Onboarding Secure Devices 

Secure device onboarding involves provisioning devices with unique cryptographic identities before they connect to the network. This process ensures that only authenticated devices can access the IoT ecosystem. 

However, in real-world scenarios, scalability is a challenge in secure onboarding of devices. In large-scale IoT networks, onboarding hundreds or thousands of devices can be resource-intensive and prone to errors. For example, a failure in the provisioning process due to misconfigured credentials or network interruptions can leave devices unauthenticated, resulting in delays or gaps in security. 

Compromised devices also pose a threat during onboarding. Attackers can inject malicious devices into the network that appear legitimate but are designed to exploit vulnerabilities. For example, during the Mirai botnet attack, insecure IoT devices were onboarded into networks and subsequently used for DDoS attacks. 

Microsoft Azure IoT Device Provisioning Service (DPS)  

Microsoft Azure IoT Device Provisioning Service (DPS) simplifies and secures the onboarding of IoT devices to Azure IoT Hub. It enables zero-touch provisioning, allowing devices to automatically register and configure themselves without manual intervention. Supporting multiple authentication methods like TPM, X.509 certificates, and symmetric keys, DPS ensures strong security. 

Define Access Control Policy 

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) primarily restricts the access of the users/devices as per their defined roles, which significantly decreases the risk of unauthorized access and avoids breaches. 

However, in real-world scenarios, implementing and maintaining these policies can be challenging. One common issue is role misconfiguration, where users or devices are assigned excessive privileges due to poorly defined roles or incorrect implementation. This can lead to unauthorized actions or data breaches if attackers exploit over-permissioned accounts. 

RBAC can also struggle in large-scale systems with complex hierarchies. Organizations with many roles and permissions often face difficulty ensuring that all assignments align with the principle of least privilege. 

Encryption Consulting PKI Management Solutions 

Encryption Consulting provides PKI management tools that support RBAC, allowing organizations to define and enforce access policies across their IoT devices.  

Use a Hierarchical PKI Structure 

A hierarchical PKI structure consisting of root Certificate Authority (CA) and intermediate CAs provides a scalable and flexible mechanism for managing certificates throughout large IoT networks. 

In real-world scenarios, managing a hierarchical PKI structure in large IoT networks presents several challenges. While a root Certificate Authority (CA) and intermediate CAs provide scalability and flexibility, maintaining the integrity and security of this structure is complex. One key issue is ensuring the secure storage and operation of the root CA, as it serves as the trust anchor for the entire PKI system. If the root CA is compromised, it can risk the trustworthiness of all certificates in the network. 

Scalability is another concern, particularly in dynamic IoT environments where devices are continuously added or removed. Ensuring that new devices are issued certificates quickly and revoked certificates are effectively propagated across the network can be difficult. A delay in these processes may lead to unauthorized access or operational disruptions. 

Encryption Consulting PKI Management Solutions 

Encryption Consulting offers a scalable PKI solution with a hierarchical structure, enabling secure and efficient certificate management for millions of IoT devices. By leveraging root and intermediate CAs, the solution streamlines certificate issuance, renewal, and revocation. With advanced automation and centralized management, it simplifies operations while ensuring high end security and compliance across large IoT networks.   

Regular Key Rotation and Renewal 

Rotate cryptographic keys and renew certificates to mitigate the risk of key compromise and improve overall security. To ensure uniformity and reduce manual errors, we can automate the process of key rotation and renewal. 

In real-world scenarios, regular key rotation and certificate renewal are critical for maintaining strong security. Manual key rotation is particularly error-prone, and organizations may skip or delay updates, leaving sensitive systems vulnerable. For example, in an IoT ecosystem, if one device’s certificate is not renewed on time, it could lead to connection failures or, worse, allow unauthorized access through an expired key. 

Automating key rotation and certificate renewal can significantly reduce the chances of human error and ensure that security protocols remain up to date. In practice, the lack of automation or poor implementation can lead to downtime, security breaches, or the misuse of compromised keys. Regular auditing and the use of automated tools to handle these processes are essential for maintaining the integrity of cryptographic systems and minimizing the risk of key compromise. 

Automated Key Management 

Some organizations offer automated key rotation and renewal services, ensuring that IoT devices maintain up-to-date cryptographic keys without manual intervention. Automated Key Management solutions help organizations enforce policies for regular key rotation and certificate renewal, thereby eliminating the human error associated with manual processes. These systems track key lifecycles, schedule rotations, and automatically update devices with new keys, ensuring a seamless and secure environment. This is critical for IoT devices, which are often deployed at scale and may require periodic updates for security compliance.

Secure Storage of Private Keys 

Storing private keys in Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) or encrypted software vaults protects them from unauthorized access and potential breaches. In real-world scenarios, securing private keys is critical because they are the foundation of cryptographic security.  

Private keys, if compromised, can lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, or even total system compromise. One of the primary challenges organizations faces is ensuring that private keys are stored in a way that protects them from theft or exposure, especially in large-scale environments where they are spread across multiple systems. 

A common problem is the improper storage of private keys in plaintext or on easily accessible locations such as databases or file systems. Storing keys in these locations without proper encryption or access controls significantly increases the risk of compromise, especially if an attacker gains access to the system. For example, during a cyberattack, attackers may target unsecured key storage locations to gain access to sensitive data or to impersonate users or devices. 

Encryption Consulting’s HSM-as-a-Service 

Encryption Consulting provides customizable, secure, and high-assurance Hardware Security Module (HSM) solutions that offer high scalability and quick deployment. These HSMs ensure advanced data protection by securely managing cryptographic keys, certificates, and sensitive information. They provide strong protection against unauthorized access and tampering, ensuring compliance with industry standards. With their scalability and easy integration, Encryption Consulting’s HSM solutions are ideal for businesses seeking to enhance security while minimizing deployment time and complexity. 

By adopting these best practices and leveraging advanced PKI management solutions, organizations can enhance the security and integrity of their IoT ecosystems, ensuring strong authentication, data confidentiality, and compliance with regulatory standards. 

How can Encryption Consulting help? 

With Encryption Consulting’s PKIaaS, organizations can redirect their focus to core business objectives and product development, knowing that a secure, efficient, and compliant PKI system safeguards their IoT infrastructure. We provide expert support and insights to help our clients adapt to evolving security needs, allowing them to grow with confidence and peace of mind.  

Additionally, Encryption Consulting’s HSM-as-a-Service and CertSecure Manager provide powerful solutions for implementing PKI in IoT ecosystems by ensuring secure key management, automating certificate lifecycle processes, and enforcing granular access controls. HSM-as-a-Service protects cryptographic keys and facilitates secure communication, while CertSecure Manager streamlines digital certificate management with automation and RBAC features to mitigate risks and enhance scalability. Together, these tools empower organizations to establish a secure, compliant, and efficient PKI framework tailored to the dynamic needs of IoT environments. 

Conclusion 

To draw a conclusion, as IoT devices are becoming more and more popular day by day, their integration into interconnected ecosystems brings unparalleled convenience and efficiency. This rapid adoption also introduces significant security challenges, including vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks, unauthorized access, and malware threats. PKI serves as a foundation for IoT security by offering strong mechanisms for ensuring data integrity, authentication, and encryption. By using PKI, organizations can create a trusted environment for device communication that helps in protecting sensitive information and increases user trust. 

In the latest IoT ecosystem, implementing a scalable and efficient PKI system is crucial for securing devices that ensure the safe and uninterrupted functionality of these devices. Adopting PKI addresses current security concerns and prepares for future advancements in IoT technology, ensuring more innovation and fewer emerging cyber threats. 

In the era of digital transformation and increasing reliance on technology, data breaches have become a significant concern for organizations across the globe. A data breach occurs when unauthorized individuals gain access to sensitive or confidential information, posing serious threats to data integrity, privacy, and financial stability. The cost of a data breach extends far beyond the immediate financial implications, encompassing legal consequences, reputational damage, and the need for comprehensive cybersecurity measures.

Total cost of a data breach

On a global scale, the average expense incurred due to a data breach has climbed to $4.45 million, marking a $100,000 upturn from the figures reported in 2022. This translates to a 2.3% escalation compared to the 2022 average cost of $4.35 million. In 2014, the average cost of a data breach was $3.5 million. Today, the average cost of a data breach has surged nearly  30%. Since 2020, when the average cost was $3.86 million, there has been a significant 15.3% increase. In 2014, the average cost of a data breach stood at $3.5 million, illustrating a remarkable 30% increase in the present day.

Cost of data breach by country or region

The top five countries and regions with the highest average cost of a data breach include the United States at $9.48 million, the Middle East at $8.07 million, Canada at $5.13 million, Germany at $4.67 million, and Japan at $4.52 million.

For 13 consecutive years, the United States has consistently held the record for the highest average cost of a data breach. In 2013, the average total organizational cost of a breach in the U.S. was $5.4 million. However, by 2023, this figure had surged to $9.48 million per breach, marking a substantial 75.5% increase over the years.

The cost of a data breach for the top 10 countries or regions is shown below:

Cost of data breach by industry

For the past 13 years, the healthcare sector has consistently ranked as the industry with the highest cost of a data breach. The 2023 report indicates that healthcare organizations incurred an average expense of $10.93 million per breach. Throughout most of the reporting periods, the financial and pharmaceutical sectors have consistently occupied the second and third positions, respectively, in terms of the cost per industry.

The cost of a data breach for the top 10 industries is shown below:

Conclusion

As technology advances, the threat landscape continues to evolve, requiring a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. Organizations must recognize the importance of investing in pre-emptive measures, incident response planning and employee education to protect against the potentially damaging consequences of a data breach. By prioritizing cybersecurity, organizations can not only protect their financial interests but also maintain stakeholder trust and confidence in an increasingly interconnected digital world. Encryption consulting offers complete solutions to protect against data breaches, ensuring financial security and stakeholder trust.

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a framework that governs the issuing of digital certificates to secure confidential data and provide unique identities to users. TLS/SSL mainly uses PKI to establish secure connections between User and Server and is also used to authenticate IoT devices. PKI is also used to secure end-to-end communications using asymmetric encryption using public and private keys.

What is PKI Management?

It is becoming complex to manage PKI as compared to early times. If PKI is compromised due to improper management, it can cause a data breach as the volume of digital certificates increases exponentially. So basically, PKI Management, as the name suggests, is an effective way to organize and handle the public key infrastructure that includes many tasks and responsibilities.

PKI Management includes managing Certificates and Keys, CAs, HSMs, and a lot more. So, PKI Management has required expertise in today’s scenario as it just can’t be ignored.

Common PKI Management Risks/Mistakes

Improper PKI Management gives birth to various errors. It creates room for different malfunction, outages, and threats. When best practices are not being followed, a few risks arise within the system.

Here are a few of the standard PKI Management mistakes usually encountered:

• Lack of crypto agility

  Crypto Agility is an ability in a security system to rapidly adapt to a new algorithm without significantly changing the system infrastructure. This process is most important as with the development of Public key infrastructure; threats are also evolving. So, whenever any vulnerability is being discovered within the system, PKI should try to resolve it as soon as possible by updating all the crypto mechanisms. If this process doesn’t work accordingly, it can exploit vulnerabilities.

• Improper Visibility

  With thousands of certificates being stored in the system, Certificate Admins can’t take care of every certificate effectively. When these certificates increase into many, an Outage is on the door. It leads to certification expiration and outages because it is pretty difficult for operators to find, update, renew every certificate before their expiry.

• Absence of Automation

  Manual management is challenging, with thousands of certificates being circulated every day. An organization cannot simply rely on manual control to keep Public Key Infrastructure updated. It is a generic need to include automated workflows for various Public Key Infrastructure tasks. Automation helps in increasing efficiency and decreasing human errors.

• Short Keys Usage

  The length of encryption keys determines their strength against attacks. As computational power continues to increase, shorter keys become vulnerable, necessitating the use of longer ones for robust security. Currently, 2048-bit keys are the standard, but businesses need to plan for future upgrades to meet evolving threats, especially with the advancements in quantum computing.

• Inadequate protection of Key and Certificate

  The security of keys depends on proper storage. Storing keys openly, like in spreadsheets or USBs, instead of using secure tools like Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), exposes them to theft. Inadequate access controls compound the risk, potentially leading to compromised information, malicious code, and reputational damage.

• Usage of Self-Signed Certificates

  Organizations often issue their own self-signed certificates for testing purposes. While they are safe in controlled environments, if forgotten or released into production, these certificates lack robustness and secure storage, posing risks of impersonation and chaos when exploited by bad actors.

• Irregular rotation of Keys

  Certificate Authorities (CAs) enforce shorter certificate lifespans for integrity. Despite the standard 13-month lifespan, best practices recommend rotating certificates every six months. However, neglecting associated key rotation is common, leaving businesses vulnerable to exploitation and compromising their security posture. Regular key rotation is crucial to prevent malicious use of compromised keys and impersonation risks, though it remains an uncommon practice.

• Using Outdated Security Protocols

  In the fast-paced and constantly evolving realm of cryptography, sticking to obsolete protocols like TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 is a huge risk that businesses cannot afford to take. This invites potential exploits and data breaches, thereby putting sensitive data and customer privacy in jeopardy. It is imperative that businesses upgrade to the latest protocols, such as TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3, opt for advanced encryption algorithms like AES or 3DES, and prioritize SHA-2 or equivalent for robust protection against potential threats.

PKI Best Practices

All organization that deals with PKI must have encountered the above-listed common problems. With a few PKI Security practices, organizations can avoid them. Here listing a few best rules to follow:

• Designing of Infrastructure

  Before implementing a PKI, Infrastructure should be appropriately designed and planned as a small mistake can cost a huge. So, organizations should make a detailed plan before integrating, as it is essential in the scenario.

• Up-to-date Security Protocols

  Always remain updated with the latest security patches and protocols. Always keep your PKI attached with the latest to keep it secured.

• Certificate Inventory

  Organizations need to maintain a certificate inventory to keep track of the certificates stored. Due to the large and increasing number of certificates every day, we need auditing.

• Robust Security

  Always protect your stored keys and certificates at any cost. For maximum protection, organizations can keep them on Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) or at a different place from the Internet.

• Examine and Revoke

  Public key infrastructure never sits static. Regular rotating and inspection of certificates are necessary. A proactive system should be there for revoking and suspending expired or outdated certificates to avoid any threats.

Conclusion

Effective PKI implementation is vital to retaining the security and integrity of virtual certificates and keys. Common flaws along with lack of crypto agility, loss of transparency and guide processing can cause vulnerabilities and disconnections. Organizations can mitigate these dangers and make certain that their PKI works nicely with the aid of following great practices along with careful infrastructure, staying on pinnacle of security policies, dealing with credentials, and imposing strong security features.

Encryption Consulting presents entire PKI solutions and knowledge to assist businesses successfully navigate the challenges of PKI control.