In this comprehensive guide, you will learn how to renew a website certificate on an Apache web server that requests the certificate from CertSecure Manager. The step-by-step instructions in this article provide detailed guidance on how to manually renew certificates on the server. By following these instructions, you can ensure that your website remains secure and protected with an up-to-date SSL certificate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l680tuhdeJ0
Certificate Management with CertSecure Manager
CertSecure Manager is a CLM solution by Encryption Consulting. It addresses the most critical challenge organizations face in managing PKI i.e., handling the sheer number of certificates across the infrastructure. From ensuring certificates automation for renewal and deploying to enforcing strict organization policies. CertSecure is designed to reduce manual overhead and simplify the overall management of you PKI infrastructure. Integrations like Service Now, Teams help implement workflows for alerting and incident management.
CertSecure Manager follows a certain method to segregate user information from each other where users can access their data and the departments they are assigned to. With policies defined, clients can also define roles which can be assigned to the users. Users can then conduct functions which are only defined by the permissions that are set by the administrator.
With the High Availability (HA) architecture of CertSecure, connector clients can effortlessly integrate all the public and private CAs . This provides a single pane of glass for managing all the certificates across multiple CAs. Its renewal agent workflows allow servers like Tomcat, Apache, nginx and load balancers like F5 to renew and deploy certificates without the need of any manual intervention. Thus, minimizing outages and increasing efficiency.
Step-by-Step Guide to Renew Certificate
In the context of renewing certificates on Apache Web Server for websites hosted on it, there exist two viable options. Firstly, we can generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) using the CertSecure Manager. This approach entails creating a fresh private key and a CSR which contains the pertinent information about the website, such as its domain name, organization name, and other details. The CSR is subsequently submitted to a certificate authority (CA) for validation and issuance of a new certificate.
Secondly, we can enroll a certificate directly from a pre-existing CSR. This can be executed if a CSR was previously generated and is obtainable for use. The pre-existing CSR is submitted to a CA for validation and issuance of a new certificate.
The use of CertSecure Manager can facilitate the acquisition process of a certificate from a CA. This tool streamlines the labor-intensive and time-consuming procedures that are usually required for obtaining a certificate. By automating the certificate acquisition process, CertSecure Manager can save time and effort for website owners and administrators.
Certificate Management
Prevent certificate outages, streamline IT operations, and achieve agility with our certificate management solution.
Following the prescribed steps one can easily acquire a certificate from CertSecure Manager and renew it on desired website running on the Apache web server.
Login to your CertSecure Manager, and navigate to ‘Generate Certificate’ in the Enrollment section present on the left side.
Select the desired CA, Template, SAN attributes, and other necessary information and click on Generate Certificate
Navigate to the Enrollment Inventory and
find your certificate (check tasks for your enrollment ID). Download the PFX and navigate to the Apache server.
Extract the private key from the PFX file using OpenSSL.
Place the certificate and key on the path where the certificate and key for your site are stored.
Restart your server for the changes to take place.
Conclusion
Renewing certificates on any website hosted on an Apache web server is a breeze when you follow the outlined steps with confidence and precision. By doing so, you can rest assured that the certificate renewal will be a resounding success.
CI/CD pipelines are an integral part of modern workflows and the tools that support them further expand their latent capabilities. Team effort is essential in modern workflows where deadlines are not only urgent, but regular as well. Every second counts when a customer is waiting on the other end. The best place to start the discussion on CI/CD therefore is what the tools allow you to accomplish.
What is CI/CD?
At its core, CI/CD environments provide tools that allow software to go live sooner and streamline the build and release process. Historically code is developed by separate teams and tested in personal environments; integration takes time, and feedback on broken code takes longer. This leads to lengthy build cycles and decreases in efficiency. It’s common practice to test a piece of code with some amount of test cases designed before development. If the final code meets these standards, it should integrate into existing code easily.
But as developers, we all know this is far from the only possible outcome even with meticulously designed test cases. CI/CD presents a way to execute test cases on a large scale, where code changes can be tested in a single streamlined and automated action. Code is pushed, received by the pipeline, and tested, and if all cases pass, the build can be set to go live. It’s amazing what this can do for your organization’s agility.
Fixing a bug on a dime is quite possibly the future of development. However, there are important considerations to take into account before embracing the CI/CD workflow industry-wide, and we are seeing now the consequences of a rush to adopt new technologies without proper vetting, testing, security, or even understanding how the integration works.
One of the modern dangers in the tech sphere is the blind leading the blind. Non-experts have access to the same Internet experts do and frequently write tutorials and guides. AI, a genuinely interesting and useful creation somewhat amplifies this problem. Chat GPT is genuinely convincing to some with its frequently authoritative tone and apparent confidence, maybe even charisma. But it pulls from this greater pool of Internet sources making it equally vulnerable to only understanding half the picture. While the following story is not meant to be a sales pitch, do consider the benefits of having a cyber security consulting firm involved in the design of your architecture, such that the big picture is not missed when broaching new and powerful technologies.
The Most Recent Attack
Today we are focusing on a specific attack developed by two researchers. This attack targets the GitHub actions CI/CD platform, specifically self-hosted runners. There are many benefits to self-hosted runners, one of which is the greater flexibility they provide in features and options. While the attacks focus largely on public GitHub repositories, these are not that uncommon in the industry and even if your organization does not host a public repository, you likely depend on one or more for your products.
While the main attack targeted GitHub actions, similar vulnerabilities have been identified across multiple CI/CD platforms used in the industry; Jenkins, Circle CI, Buildkite, etc. Since this attack focused on public repositories, its theoretical consequences could have reached far and wide if it was malicious. To complicate matters, these vulnerabilities arise in part from bad default settings.
Tailored Encryption Services
We assess, strategize & implement encryption strategies and solutions.
To perpetrate an attack, contributor status must first be achieved. A lofty goal one might think, especially for a large prestigious project. But all the researchers needed to gain this status was correcting a typo. With this status, they could then initiate a pull request. Granted, anyone can initiate a fork pull request on a public repository, but when a contributor makes a pull request they will, per default settings, have the ability to use the runner attached to the main project. This will happen per these default settings before approval for the merge is received. If a malicious workflow is contained within the fork, it will be executed by the runner.
Runners persist on the machine they operate on, so this code can continue to affect future builds and run in the background on the machine uninterrupted. The runner can basically be made to act as a Trojan for the attacker. If the runner has elevated status on the machine, which is a standard requirement, the machine won’t recognize or flag it for its suspicious activity. Key logging can then collect the authentication token and the entire process can be hijacked. Authentication tokens allow full access to the repository, from there the attacker can do whatever they want.
Far more insidious than hijacking a public project in such a visible way would be to abuse the persistent runner to affect future builds silently. These repositories are widely used, one such repository pytorch, which was directly attacked as part of the project, owns 21% market share in the machine learning space. Imagine the number of projects, companies, and software that could be compromised by an attack. Not to mention, with the long dependency chains typical of modern projects, your organization may not even be aware that they were dependent on a project with a known compromise. In this case, we are lucky that at present the attackers were researchers not interested in causing harm, but it’s a good time to review the process and tools your organization is using for CI/CD as well as if any of your dependencies are still vulnerable to this attack method.
Conclusion
Attacks are hard to keep track of, especially in the modern day when the scope of a compromise is difficult to ascertain before the damage is done. If your organization uses CI/CD and needs information regarding how to secure the pipeline and prevent attacks, please consider reaching out to Encryption Consulting.
Our team of experts can aid in setting up best practices for access controls and security policy on your CI/CD platform as well as to help evaluate potential attack vectors across your organization. Our services also include certificate management and codesigning, which can easily integrate with your secured CI/CD process and further expedite your building and testing process.
The proliferation of digital certificates within enterprises is a consequence of the complex nature of modern IT environments. As organizations aim to secure various components, such as servers, computing devices, and user identities, the escalating number of certificates has presented a significant challenge. Managing and monitoring this expanding terrain across multiple platforms has become a formidable task for many enterprises.
Being a Certificate Management solutions provider, we understand the significance of managing digital certificates and the challenges associated with it. Thus, in our pursuit of making CertSecure Manager, a certificate lifecycle management (CLM) solution that is faster, simpler, and more precise, several key concerns and challenges arise in ensuring comprehensive visibility and control of the huge certificate portfolio. Delving into these challenges, we begin by addressing the following pivotal concerns:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eODRZBVeUqg
Challenge 1: Tracking the Ever-Growing Certificate portfolio
In today’s modern IT infrastructure, the ubiquity of digital certificates has become indispensable, with everyone from developers to end-users requiring them. Consequently, the sheer volume of certificates being issued has reached an unprecedented scale. However, the challenge of managing this ever-growing certificate portfolio extends beyond mere issuance; it encompasses the crucial aspects of ensuring the validity and trustworthiness of each certificate.
This intricate process not only makes certificate management laborious and time-consuming but also introduces potential risks. This complexity can lead to issues such as expirations and outages if left untracked.
Challenge 2: Certificate Expiry Foresight Gap
In addition to the challenge of tracking the ever-growing certificate portfolio, another significant issue surfaces. The issue stems from the absence of a clear display indicating which certificates have expired and the need for foresight regarding upcoming expirations. The Certificate management solutions fail to provide a real-time mechanism to identify expiring certificates, leaving us without a proactive means to prevent potential outages. The lack of a tangible indicator or identifier for impending expirations exposes the system to unexpected disruptions. Manual tracking and keeping spreadsheets for a portfolio of this magnitude introduces the risk of human errors and inefficiencies, underscoring the need for an advanced solution.
Challenge 3: Alerting System Inefficiency and Lack of Issue Lifecycle Tracking
Another challenge that arises within the realm of certificate expiration alerting solutions lies in their limited effectiveness. While these solutions can promptly alert designated entities about certificate expirations, a crucial gap emerges in the absence of a comprehensive issue-tracking system. Picture a scenario where a certificate expires, triggering an alert to the designated entity. Unfortunately, this process lacks a mechanism for generating a corresponding ticket that tracks the issue’s lifecycle.
Moreover, a significant deficiency lies in the absence of a trackback or fallback algorithm for instances where a response to the issue resolution is not received. This deficiency hampers the overall efficiency of the alerting system, leaving a critical aspect of certificate management unaddressed and potentially leading to delays in resolution and increased security risks.
With all the issues and challenges addressed above, this is where CertSecure Manager’s Service Now integration comes into play.
Introduction to CertSecure Manager
CertSecure Manager is a CLM solution by Encryption Consulting. It addresses the most critical challenge organizations face in managing PKI environments. As the number of digital certificates increases, it becomes a tedious task to manage the sheer number of digital certificates. With the High-Availability (HA) architecture of CertSecure Manager, connector clients can effortlessly integrate all the public and private CAs with the CLM. This provides a single pane of glass for managing all the certificates across multiple CAs. It also makes sure that no CA, be it a multi-cloud setup or a public-private combination, is missed and can be easily integrated with CertSecure.
CertSecure Manager also provides the option of Renewal Agents, which can be integrated with servers like IIS and Tomcat and load balancers like F5. These agents make sure that the certificates used are active and auto-renewed prior to expiration. The discovery capability makes sure the user knows about all the certificates underlying your web server, be it installed in any partition of the device. Clients can also integrate their own solutions with ACME or Rest APIs, which will make it easier to get certificates for their applications.
Why Use Service Now? Unveiling the Significance of Integration
The Service Now integration assists the connected organization in configuring its Service Now instance with CertSecure. This integration is strategically built on top of role-based access control to ensure a more precise identification of individuals responsible for certificate administration within the organization. Leveraging RBAC simplifies the assignment of roles and grouping of users, providing a straightforward and manageable method to allocate distinct roles. This functionality enables the system to categorize users into distinct roles or layers based on their permissions and access levels, facilitating a more organized and secure certificate management structure.
The integration addresses several key benefits:
Automates certificate tracking, ensuring real-time updates and minimal manual intervention.
Receive automated alerts and tickets well in advance (7, 30, 60, 90 days) and promptly for certificate expirations.
A fallback algorithm in case resolution for certificate expiry is not received.
Prevents human errors and service outages related to certificate expiry.
Furthermore, Service Now addresses the persistent challenge of tracking certificates at any given time. This functionality significantly streamlines the renewal process; upon certificate expiration, a meticulously generated ticket is promptly assigned to the relevant group, subsequently progressing to the issuer for resolution. This systematic approach ensures a smoother and more efficient certificate renewal workflow within the integrated CertSecure environment.
Resolving the challenges using ServiceNow Integration
Tracking the Ever-Growing Portfolio
ServiceNow plays a pivotal role in overcoming the challenge of managing an ever-growing certificate portfolio. While the certificate data is stored in the centralized database, ServiceNow enhances this process by automating and streamlining the entire lifecycle. The platform acts as a dynamic orchestrator, automating routine tasks such as tracking certificate validity and ensuring timely renewals.
This precision-driven automation minimizes manual intervention, reducing the risk of oversight and fortifying the efficiency and accuracy of our certificate management process.
Certificate Expiry Foresight Gap
ServiceNow’s integration tackles the Certificate Expiry Foresight Gap by introducing automated tracking, alerting, and fallback mechanisms for each certificate. The role-based access control (RBAC) functionalities ensure precision in assigning responsibilities and roles to all the grouped users. Additionally, ServiceNow’s automation capabilities enable the platform to send automated alerts, notifying designated groups and, in turn, designated users well before impending certificate expirations.
This clarifies the lifecycle management workflow for each certificate, effectively closing the foresight gap.
Alerting System Inefficiency and Lack of Issue Lifecycle Tracking
ServiceNow significantly improves the alerting system’s efficiency by creating incidents for each expiration issue. Through the integration, ServiceNow automatically generates tickets when certificate expirations are detected, both well in advance at intervals such as 7, 30, 60, and 90 days, and promptly in case of expiration. This approach ensures that every expiration is logged and tracked in the system.
Moreover, the system incorporates a fallback algorithm, a crucial component of incident management. When a response to the issue resolution is not received, the defined fallback algorithm kicks in, ensuring a systematic and reliable resolution process.
Certificate Management
Prevent certificate outages, streamline IT operations, and achieve agility with our certificate management solution.
The integration’s architectural framework is strategically divided into three fundamental layers: the Admin layer, the incident group layer, and, ultimately, the incident ticket entity itself. At the pinnacle, the Admin layer oversees all administrative groups, taking charge of the comprehensive management of the second layer. These layers function hierarchically, progressing from a broader scope of access control in the Admin layer to a more specific focus on the incident ticket entity.
The Admin layer orchestrates the overall administration of groups, followed by the incident group layer, which concentrates on group-specific activities. These are the groups responsible for the meticulous management and resolution of incidents related to certificates. Finally, the incident ticket entity encapsulates the precise details related to certificate expiration, creating a structured and organized approach to incident resolution within the Service Now integration.
An advantageous aspect lies in the alignment with existing organizational workflows, where established processes and administrative policies seamlessly integrate. This consistently ensures an efficient workflow, starting with the initial layer and mirroring it for subsequent layers.
Diving deeper into the mechanics of how tickets are assigned and managed within an incident group, specifically the renewal process of expired certificates. When a ticket is generated for an expired certificate, it is promptly assigned to the issuing group. This incident group is responsible for addressing the ticket and overseeing the renewal of the expired certificate. Notably, tickets are generated well in advance, at intervals of 7, 30, 60, and 90 days before expiry, as well as promptly after certificate expiration.
The ticket’s lifecycle operates on a straightforward policy: initially, it is assigned to the certificate issuer or the designated certificate entity. Once the identified issue is successfully resolved, marking the successful renewal, the ticket is officially closed. However, in instances where the ticket remains unresolved for a specified duration, it undergoes an automated reassignment process. In such cases, the ticket is redirected to the group owner, who has the authority to assign it to the relevant entity responsible for resolving the outstanding issue. This structured workflow ensures a systematic and responsive approach to handling incidents related to certificate renewals within the integrated CertSecure environment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, integrating CertSecure Manager with Service Now offers a comprehensive solution for the challenges associated with digital certificate monitoring and management. The architectural framework of integration is organized into layers, from the administrative control to the specific incident ticket entity, which ensures a seamless workflow aligned with existing organizational processes. CertSecure, in collaboration with Service Now, not only navigates the complexities of digital certificate management but also establishes a structured and adaptive framework for incident resolution. This integrated approach significantly simplifies the tracking and renewal process of CertSecure, automating the alerting and incident management. It effectively resolves issues related to lifetime tracking, expiry foresight, and unclear workflow of certificate renewal. Thus, CertSecure’s integration with ServiceNow provides an efficient certificate lifecycle management solution.
CertSecure has a comprehensive suite of lifecycle management features. From discovery and inventory to issuance, deployment, renewal, revocation, and reporting, CertSecure provides an all-encompassing solution. Intelligent report generation, alerting, automation, automatic deployment onto servers, and certificate enrollment add layers of sophistication, making it a versatile and intelligent asset.
NuGet is the official package manager for the .Net ecosystem. It provides platforms and tools that help developers to create, publish, and consume .Net Packages. You must be wondering now, what’s a package! Packages can generally be compiled libraries packed with descriptive metadata into a nice shareable unit. NuGet’s job is to make those libraries as accessible and easy to share as possible in the form of packages. NuGet helps developers leverage an entire ecosystem and build on the existing solutions instead of building everything from scratch.
Go through the article below to better understand what NuGet Signing is.
A NuGet package is a compressed archive, identifiable by the .nupkg extension, encompassing compiled code (DLLs), associated files, and a descriptive manifest detailing attributes such as the package’s version. Developers wishing to share their code generate these packages and release them on a public or private host. Consumers of these packages retrieve them from suitable hosts, integrate them into their projects, and subsequently invoke the package’s functionality within their project code. All intermediate intricacies are managed seamlessly by NuGet itself.
NuGet’s versatility extends to both public nuget.org hosting and support for private hosts. This flexibility enables the utilization of NuGet packages for sharing code within an organization or workgroup exclusively. Additionally, developers can employ NuGet packages as a streamlined method to modularize their code for use solely within their projects. A NuGet package is a distributable code unit without any specific requirement or implication regarding the sharing mode.
Let’s talk about the Package Flow
In its public role, NuGet is like a big library (nuget.org) with over 100,000 different packages. These packages are used by lots of .NET/.NET Core developers every day. NuGet also lets you have your private library in the cloud (like on Azure DevOps), on a private network, or just on your computer. This way, only certain developers with access to the library can use those packages, and you can share them with a specific group. You can learn more about these options by Hosting your own NuGet feeds. By setting things up a certain way, you can control which libraries a computer can get packages from, ensuring they come from specific sources and not just the big public library (nuget.org).
No matter what, a library is like a meeting place for package creators and package users. Creators make helpful NuGet packages and put them in a library. Users then look for useful packages in accessible libraries, download them, and add them to their projects. Once in a project, these packages’ tools are ready to be used in the rest of the project code.
Before we dive deep into NuGet signing, let’s understand what Code signing is.
Code signing is a cryptographic process that involves attaching a digital signature to software to verify its origin and ensure it hasn’t been tampered with. This digital signature is generated using a private key and can be verified using the corresponding public key, providing users with confidence in the authenticity and integrity of the code.
Key Benefits of Code Signing:
Authenticity
Code signing verifies the software publisher’s identity, ensuring that users can trust the source of the code.
Integrity
Attaching a digital signature to the code can detect unauthorized modifications, safeguarding against tampering.
Tamper-proof Distribution
Code signing allows developers to distribute their software securely, reducing the risk of malicious alterations during transit.
Understanding NuGet Signing
As discussed above, NuGet is a popular package manager for .NET development, allowing developers to share and consume code easily. NuGet signing is an extension of code signing tailored for NuGet packages. When a NuGet package is signed, it includes a digital signature that provides the same benefits as traditional code signing, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of the packaged code.
General requirements of NuGet Signing
Ensure that a signed package remains compatible with package readers and writers lacking support for package signing
Integrate the package signature intricately within the package file.
Strictly adhere to the rule that each signed package should contain precisely one primary signature. (co-signing explicitly disallowed)
Ideally, designate the primary signature as either an author or repository signature.
When applying an author signature, ensure it serves as the primary signature. Remove the existing primary signature before adding an author signature to an already signed package.
Certificate minimum requirements
A NuGet signing certificate MUST meet the following minimum requirements:
The certificate MUST be valid for the id-kp-codeSigning purpose [RFC 5280 section 4.2.1.12].
The certificate MUST have an RSA public key length of 2048 bits or higher.
A timestamping certificate MUST meet the following minimum requirements:
The certificate MUST be valid for the id-kp-timeStamping purpose [RFC 5280 section 4.2.1.12].
The certificate MUST have an RSA public key length of 2048 bits or higher.
At signing time, a certificate MUST be within its validity period according to the package writer and MUST NOT be revoked. At validation time, the certificate’s revocation status SHOULD be rechecked; however, package readers MAY fail to open if revocation status is unavailable (e.g., a CRL is inaccessible).
Certificates MUST NOT have the lifetime signing EKU (1.3.6.1.4.1.311.10.3.13).
Enterprise Code-Signing Solution
Get One solution for all your software code-signing cryptographic needs with our code-signing solution.
The following steps are outlined for the author signing a package.
Step 1: Determine if the package is signed
If the package is signed and the sign operation should not overwrite an existing signature – the sign operation fails with a message that “the package is already signed.”
If the package is signed and the sign operation should overwrite an existing signature – remove the existing signature and follow step 2
If the package is not signed, continue with step 2
Step 2: Verify the signing certificate satisfied the minimum requirements (as mentioned above)
Step 3: Verify that the supported hash, signature, and timestamp hash algorithms are used. (as mentioned above)
Step 4: Generate Package signature File
Create author signature
Obtain a timestamp from the author signature
Please verify that the timestamp signing certificate satisfies certificate minimum requirements (as mentioned above) and uses the supported hash algorithm.
Step 5: Add the package signature file as an uncompressed (stored) file to the package being signed
Step 6: Validate the signed package
Determine if the package is signed ( if not signed, stop the validation immediately)
Verify the package signature file is an uncompressed and regular file.
Verify the package signature format is supported.
Verify package integrity
Verify primary signature validity and trust
If no failures have been encountered, treat the package as a valid signed package.
Conclusion
NuGet is an open-source and free package manager for the .NET ecosystem. In a world where software supply chain attacks are rising, implementing robust security measures like code signing and NuGet Signing is essential. These practices instill trust in the software supply chain, giving developers and end-users confidence in the authenticity and integrity of the code they consume.
CodeSign Secure helps sign NuGet Package without any hassle, With Encryption Consulting’s CodeSign Secure solution, we offer a highly effective and efficient approach to signing NuGet packages. Our solution not only ensures the security of your packages through robust cryptographic measures but also streamlines the signing process, enhancing the overall efficiency of your software development lifecycle.
This blog post covers how to resolve a common misconfiguration of a Template that causes a Denied by Policy Module error when issuing certificates. The error may range from
Permission denied in MMC console.
The Template does not appear on the web Enrollment page.
While issuing certificates from cmd, it throws an error of permission denied.
This blog will cover two phases: Problem Diagnosis and Problem Resolution.
Problem Diagnosis
Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the error; ensure you have enterprise admin rights for these steps.
Run the certutil command to get the config value.
Replace the config value obtained in the following command
certutil -config “{config}” -cainfo templates
This will present you with all the templates available on this Certification Authority. This data is pulled from the domain controller, and so is the data that is displayed to the users.
Note: If you don’t see your template, navigate to “certsrv.msc” and issue a new template.
To check the permissions on the concerned template, run the following command-
certutil -v -template {Template Name}
If you can’t find the concerned user here with the required enroll permissions, the concerned user needs to be granted enroll permission by following the steps in the Resolution part.
Note: If you just made the change, please wait a couple of minutes for the domain controllers to sync.
Tailored Encryption Services
We assess, strategize & implement encryption strategies and solutions.
Step-by-step process to resolve the issue found in the diagnosis phase, please follow the steps:
Open Certificate Authority and right-click on Certificate Templates, and choose Manage.
Find the concerned Certificate Template, right-click, and choose Properties
Navigate to the Security tab, and click Add
Provide appropriate permissions to the user. Click Apply and exit.
This should add the user with appropriate permissions. Run diagnostic steps again to ensure no errors are encountered.
Conclusion
“Denied by Policy” errors often stem from elusive misconfigurations in system settings and policies. To identify these problems, one needs a thorough grasp of authorization, authentication, and access control systems. The difficulty comes from the intricacy of dynamic rules and procedures and the possibility of human error. Maintaining a good security posture requires regular audits, automated configuration tools, and thorough administrator training to mitigate such failures.
At Encryption Consulting, we offer PKI as a Service (PKIaaS) to prevent these issues before they escalate. Our service includes expert guidance on certificate management, template configuration, and policy enforcement, ensuring your environment is always in compliance with best practices. With real-time support and proactive monitoring, our Encryption Advisory Services are designed to help you avoid misconfigurations like the “Denied by Policy” error and ensure smooth certificate issuance.
Contact us at [email protected]today to explore how our tailored encryption solutions can keep your organization secure from certificate-related issues and misconfigurations.
Jar files, also known as Java archives, are used to arrange together several Java class files and their associated data into a single file. They play an essential role in the distribution of Java programs, allowing for effortless distribution and operation across several platforms. Signing Jar files to ensure their validity and integrity is an important aspect of distributing Java programs. This is especially critical when it comes to protecting web-based applications and assuring the dependability of third-party libraries. The JarSigner tool is provided by the Java Development Kit (JDK) for this purpose.
The JarSigner creates a signature file for the initial Jar file. This signature file includes the cryptographic hashes of all the contents of the Jar file. The tool then uses a digital signature algorithm to construct a second signature file (RSA). These two signature files, along with the initial files, are kept in the Jar file. The JarSigner extracts the initial Jar file and its related signature files during the verification process. The hash values for the initial Jar file are then calculated and compared to the values recorded in the signature file. The Jar file is regarded as legitimate and trustworthy if the hash values match. Otherwise, the Jar file is considered invalid and cannot be run.
The addition of a digital signature facilitates the verification of the origin and identity of Jar files. Cryptographic algorithms play an important role in ensuring robust protection by implementing advanced mathematical techniques in the signing process. Various methods exist for signing Jar files. Below, a concise overview of distinct approaches is provided.
Sign Jar Files using the JarSigner Tool
This section details how to sign jar files using the JarSigner tool. Java must be installed for it to work. Download and install Java from https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads. There are different ways to use JarSigner: with the CodeSign Secure KSP, command prompt, through the Eclipse IDE, or through a Jenkins Pipeline.
With CodeSign Secure KSP
Navigate to Java’s jdk installation and go inside the bin folder (usually located at C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-20\bin). There you will find JarSigner application “Jasigner.exe”.
You can drag the application to command line to get its path or simply navigate to that folder using the cmd.
In cmd, we will first specify our store type, we are doing so by using -storetype Windows-My. This is where our KSP comes into play.
Specify signing algorithm with: sigalg SHA256withRSA. You can use whichever signing algorithm you choose.
Specify Time Stamp Server: –tsa http://timestamp.digicert.com
Specify the Jar File you wish to sign.
Specify the Key Alias of the certificate.
Altogether the command somewhat looks like the following. This needs to be executed from the directory where JarSigner Application is located.
Add this JDK library in project library. Remove JRE library.
Then open the project pom.xml file and change JDK 1.8 path as per your machine.
Then right click on the project and select Run As: Maven Install
Build success will be shown below, and in the target folder of the project, JarSigner.jar will be created.
Jenkins Pipeline
Using JarSigner in a Pipeline can be useful to test potential updates and new builds. The JarSigner project is pre-configured on the Jenkins dashboard.
To login, open a web browser (preferably Google Chrome), and type http://localhost:8080/ to access the Jenkins dashboard.
Here you can see all the builds and some general information about them.
In the Jenkins Dashboard follow the steps below:
From Dashboard click on New Item.
Enter any item name and click on Freestyle Project and click ok.
In the configuration page, under General put up a description as you wish.
This is where the JarSigner code is executed, through adding a Build Step that Executes a Windows Batch Command we can call the JarSigner code and execute it through the Jenkins pipeline.
Save any changes by clicking on Save at the bottom.
Once saved click on build now and you’ll see a build number running in your screen. For more information about the build steps and general build settings, you can click on Configure next to the Build Now button.
On the left side at the bottom of the button list, click on the upward facing arrow on Build History to reveal the most recent builds of the project. Select the most recent one and you will see the build information page. To see the output of the build, click on the Console Output button on the left side of the screen.
You can view the console output in a plain text format as well by clicking View as plain text below the Console Output button. As shown below, this build executes the JarSigner.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding the concepts of signing Jar files and the usage of the ‘jar signer’ tool is essential for Java developers and users alike. By leveraging this functionality, one can enhance the security and reliability of their applications, safeguarding them against potential tampering and ensuring the trustworthiness of third-party libraries. As the security of web-based applications continues to be a priority, familiarizing oneself with the process of signing Jar files will prove invaluable for staying ahead in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Encryption Consulting understands the need to sign files and applications in this digital age. Our code signing platform, CodeSign Secure, demonstrates our dedication to security. We provide signature generation with Hardware Security Modules, along with client-side hashing and virus scanning. We are committed to your security, and we are here to equip you with the information and tools you need to secure the things that are most important to you. Visit www.encryptionconsulting.com to learn more about any of our products or to book a CodeSign Secure Demo.
“Mage.exe” is a command-line tool used in the Windows operating system for signing and verifying software manifests. Mage Signing is primarily used for signing manifests, which are XML files containing information regarding the deployment and update of a software application. By making use of “mage.exe” to sign the manifest, developers can ensure the authenticity and integrity of their applications, providing users with confidence that the software has not been compromised. The tool also enables the verification of signed manifests, allowing users to validate the source and integrity of the application before installation.
At Encryption Consulting, we have extensive expertise in compliance standards, including FIPS 140-2 Level 3 HSMs. We prioritize meeting industry regulations and standards for your package signing process. To enhance security, we utilize Proxy-Based access to the HSM, ensuring that your private key remains safeguarded from unauthorized access and potential breaches. We recognize that every organization has unique requirements, which is why we offer customized solutions tailored to your specific needs. By doing so, we provide a secure signing process that instills trust and confidence in our services.
Pre-Requisites
Install mage on your system.
Install .NET Framework 4 or above.
Obtain a Signing Certificate.
Mage.exe is a .NET Framework tool, so it will either get automatically installed while you install .NET Framework using Visual Studio or it is downloaded with Windows SDK, under Windows SDK signing tools for Desktop apps.
You can locate it in the file path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v10.0A\bin\NETFX 4.8.1 Tools. Once you’ve downloaded mage.exe to your system, you will need to set the PATH environment variable to mage.exe.
Mage commands and parameters
You can also see this by using mage -help or mage -help verbose in your CMD
-s, -Sign [Sign options]
Uses a key pair or X509 certificate to sign a file. Signatures are inserted as XML elements inside of the files.
You must be connected to the Internet when signing a manifest that specifies a -TimestampUri value.
-ver, -Verify[manifest-filename]
Verifies that the manifest is signed correctly. Cannot be combined with other commands.
-a, -Algorithm
Specifies “sha256RSA” or “sha1RSA as the algorithm to generate dependency digests with.
-ch, -CertHash
Provides Certificate Hash or Fingerprint
-ti, -TimestampUri
Specify time stamp url ex: http://timestamp.digicert.com
Using the command line and self-signed certificate (from our web portal)
This method also involves leveraging the Mage (Command Line Interface) that provides functionality to create, publish, sign, and manage packages without changing the project files. But first, the user needs to generate a Self-Signed certificate from our web portal. After that, convert the download certificate from .pem to .crt format for better operations. When these steps are performed successfully, perform the following steps:
Download the Certificate Chain from our “Signing Tools” screen. And unzip it in your client machine.
After that, install the Root Certificate into your system.
Steps:
Click on the INSTALL CERTIFICATE button.
On the “Import Wizard” popup, select Current User and then hit NEXT
On the “Certificate Store” popup, choose Trusted Root Certification
Authorities for the Root CA certificate and click on NEXT.
After verifying all the details, click on FINISH.
After installing Root CA, install the Issuing CA from the Certificate Chain
folder (intermediate.crt). Follow the same procedure, except to install this
certificate in Intermediate Certification Authorities.
After successfully installing the Issuing CA, install the End Entity
certificate (or the Self-Signed certificate from our portal) into your
system. The process is the same, except this certificate will be installed
in the Personal store.
Run the repairstore command using the Thumbprint of this
End Entity certificate. Like this:
certutil -f -repairstore -csp “Encryption Consulting Key Storage
Provider” -user “My” <thumbprint of the certificate>
When all of these steps have been completed successfully, try running the Mage command-line command using this certificate’s thumbprint.
specify the name of the file you want to sign or the path of the file, if it is not in the same directory
<hash_or_cert_fingerprint>
specify the fingerprint or Hash of your certificate. This can be found in detail section of your certificate.
A sample of executed command
Conclusion
In today’s digital landscape, securing one’s digital application, files,
manifests etc has been very crucial. Developers may verify the validity and
integrity of their apps and provide consumers with peace of mind that the
product hasn’t been altered by signing the manifest with “mage.exe”.
To verify the application’s integrity and source before installing it, users may also use the tool to verify signed manifests. Signing manifests is essential to preserving security and confidence in Windows platform software deployment procedures.
Encryption Consulting aims to provide you with the necessary tools and guidance to help create a more secure environment. We are well aware of how important file signing is for safeguarding against unforeseen circumstances. We are committed to your security, and we are here to provide you with the information and tools you need to secure the things that are most important to you. We have Code Signing solution to help you with signing your applications. You can reach out to us at [email protected] to request a demo of our CodeSign Secure.
As we begin this new year and review our data protection strategy for the months ahead, it’s crucial not to overlook one of the leading causes of certificate outages: human errors. Enterprises are exposed to increasing security and compliance challenges with no margin for error. Every expired certificate opens a backdoor for rogue hackers to steal critical data from the organization and leave behind hefty bills of financial loss. Even one certificate outage can cost enterprises an average of 15 million dollars to recover. These expired certificates that fall through the cracks are causing certificate breaches and massive outages to some of the most prominent companies throughout the world. Around 81% of companies have experienced a certificate-related outage in the past two years, and these cases just corroborate the claims.
CISCO
The latest on the list is Cisco, who recently warned its clients on Twitter about an expired hardware certificate in its SD-WAN devices, eventually posing risks to the attached SD-WAN environments. In their released statement, they confirmed that their team is actively working to resolve the device failure that affected several of their routers, including VEdge 100, 1000, and 2000. These routers are responsible for security and multi-cloud connectivity to the enterprise. They have advised their customers to stay away from the go-to solution of restarting their devices as it leads to a complete loss of service. While the team at Cisco is actively working to resolve the issue, the incident is pushing enterprises to take a second look at the status of their digital certificates.
MICROSOFT
The WinGet package failure from expired SSL certificates at Microsoft raised many concerns about the potential risks of certificate outages. The open-source Windows package manager users started reporting issues in installing or updating apps via WinGet as they received “InternetOpenUrl() failed” errors. While the tech giant was quick to release a workaround to provide a solution to their users, the users continued to share screenshots of the error on GitHub, questioning the credibility of the brand for missing out on the renewal of their SSL/TLS Certificate.
SPOTIFY
A certificate expiration took down the prominent streaming service Spotify for over an hour leading to a massive tweetstorm by their music-deprived users. Despite the company not making an official statement releasing the cause of the outage, experts were quick to point out expired certificates to be the reason behind it. The lapsed certificates caused another disruption two years later that lasted for 9 hours affecting the platform’s biggest producers. Listeners were unable to access and download podcasts from Megaphone-hosted publishers due to an expired SSL certificate.
ERICSSON
The certificate expiration at Middlebury Ericsson proved how one certificate outage could cause massive disruptions in over 11 countries and affect millions of people, including all the company stakeholders. The expired certificate led to over 32 million people in the UK losing their 4G and SMS signals. After a public apology, the company immediately decommissioned the software that was responsible for managing its certificates. This incident is still one of the biggest certificate outages that the world has seen and highlights the need for a robust certificate management solution.
LINKEDIN
LinkedIn, our go-to social platform for business networking, has faced certificate outages twice in 2 years due to SSL expiration. The first incident impacted millions as they were unable to log into their accounts. The second breach only affected the desktop users after several users started receiving the SSL connection error message caused by LinkedIn’s link shortener, lnkd.in. Their team was quick to install a new certificate, but these two incidents highlight the issue that many large enterprises face of certificate visibility, creating the need for a centralized location for all the digital certificates in a certificate management solution.
GOOGLE VOICE
Google Voice experienced a global outage from February 15th to 16th, 2021, lasting over four hours due to an expired TLS certificate. Google’s Root Cause Analysis revealed that the issue stemmed from a failure to update certificate configurations, unintentionally causing the active certificate to expire. During the outage, users were unable to initiate or receive VoIP calls. The incident highlights the recurring problem of organizations, even giants like Google, grappling with certificate expirations, often due to faulty alerting systems or manual renewal processes. Expired certificates have been implicated in various high-profile outages and data breaches.
MICROSOFT TEAMS
On February 3, 2019, Microsoft Teams experienced a three-hour outage due to an expired authentication certificate. The incident left its 20 million daily users unable to access essential collaboration tools. Microsoft acknowledged the problem on Twitter, assuring a swift certificate renewal. However, users expressed frustration, some even contemplating a switch to Slack. The incident highlighted concerns about Microsoft’s oversight of certificate management, especially given the critical role Teams plays in modern workplaces. Critics questioned why a company like Microsoft lacked automated solutions to prevent such certificate-related issues.
EQUIFAX
The Equifax data breach, revealing 9,000 queries on 48 databases and 265 instances of unauthorized data access, was attributed to an unnoticed certificate expiration on Equifax’s monitoring device. Due to a lapsed security certificate for 19 months, the inactive device allowed attackers to transfer personally identifiable information unnoticed. Similar to the recent Ericsson outage, emphasizing the necessity of automated enterprise-wide certificate management, the incidents underscore the risks posed by expired certificates. During the breach, Equifax had 324 expired SSL certificates, including 79 critical domain monitoring devices. The importance of proactive identification and renewal of certificates is crucial to prevent potentially catastrophic failures.
AMAZON WEB SERVICE
On December 7, 2021, a significant outage in Amazon Web Services (AWS) disrupted various online services, including Amazon’s delivery operations and third-party sellers. Colleges had to delay exams due to reliance on AWS-powered software. The outage, originating in the US-East-1 region, affected fulfilment centres and delivery operations, leading to stranded packages and delayed orders during the peak holiday season. The incident exposed the vulnerability of relying on a few major cloud service providers. Notably, Whole Foods, Amazon Flex drivers, and third-party merchants suffered disruptions, causing financial losses for businesses and inconvenience for customers.
APPLE
In April 2023, a widespread outage affected Apple services, including the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple News. Users encountered errors when attempting to download or update apps, and SSL certificate issues were identified as the cause. Apple has since resolved the problem, but in the preceding two weeks, various Apple services, such as the Weather app and the Apple Developer website, experienced reliability issues raising concerns.
What Steps Can You Take to Safeguard Your Organization from Certificate Outages for 2024?
Moving away from the traditional use of patchwork of spreadsheets and internal PKI interface to a secure certificate management solution that provides enhanced visibility of all your certificates and automates the complete lifecycle of certificates.
Conduct regular assessments to identify vulnerability issues and monitor your certificates for expiration.
Checking certificate transparency logs to track rogue certificates and mitigate security risks.
Implementing automated alerting and reporting systems to get prior notifications of any certificate reaching its end of life.
Securing ownership to designate the responsibility of tracking and monitoring certificates to ensure accountability and avoid confusion.
Certificate Management
Prevent certificate outages, streamline IT operations, and achieve agility with our certificate management solution.
How can Encryption Consulting’s CertSecure Manager help?
Encryption Consulting’s Certificate Management Solution plays a crucial role in addressing and mitigating the risks associated with certificate expiry. CertSecure Manager offers a range of comprehensive features designed to proactively manage certificates throughout their lifecycle. Here’s how it can be beneficial:
Certificate Monitoring and Alerting
Consistently monitoring the expiration dates of digital certificates across an organization’s infrastructure. It promptly sends alerts and notifications to administrators, providing ample time for necessary renewal actions.
Automated Renewal
Renewing certificates on time can be challenging, especially with a large number of certificates. CertSecure Manager automates the renewal process, reducing the risk of oversight and ensuring the timely renewal of critical certificates.
Centralized Management
Managing certificates across various systems and applications can be complex. CertSecure Manager offers a centralized platform, allowing administrators to view, track, and manage all certificates from a unified interface, enhancing efficiency and control.
Policy Enforcement
Organizations can define and enforce certificate policies with CertSecure Manager. This ensures that certificates are created with proper configurations and adhere to security best practices, minimizing the chances of misconfigurations that could lead to vulnerabilities.
Risk Assessment
CertSecure Manager conducts regular assessments of the certificate landscape, identifying potential vulnerabilities arising from expired or misconfigured certificates. This enables proactive remediation before malicious actors can exploit them.
Reporting and Auditing
Detailed reports are generated, offering insights into certificate statuses, renewals, and potential risks. These reports are valuable for compliance requirements, audits, and demonstrating a robust security posture.
Integration with Existing Systems
CertSecure Manager seamlessly integrates with various certificate authorities, ensuring smooth integration with existing certificate issuance processes.
Reduced Downtime
By preventing disruptions caused by certificate expiration, CertSecure Manager ensures uninterrupted services, reducing downtime and enhancing customer trust and satisfaction.
Enhanced Security Posture
CertSecure Manager contributes to an organization’s overall security posture by ensuring certificates are always up-to-date, thus preventing security gaps that attackers could exploit.
Conclusion
The digital certificates that connect 64 billion users across the continental borders hold tremendous pressure to run smoothly. These incidents of certificate outages cause massive disruptions and hamper the integrity and trust of the users in the company.
By automating the complete certificate management lifecycle, you don’t just avoid certificate outages but also provide an additional security layer and meet all compliance requirements to enhance the organization’s security posture. Our world’s first Microsoft PKI native certificate management solution automates the complete certificate lifecycle management process that provides automatic certificate renewal to ensure zero certificate outages
Robust security is no longer a luxury but a fundamental pillar of organizational success. Yet, many organizations still rely on aging Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems, leaving them vulnerable to evolving threats and inefficiencies. If you’re a security professional entrusted with safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring seamless digital interactions, this blog is for you. We’ll delve into seven compelling reasons why modernizing your PKI is no longer just a good idea but a critical step towards elevating your security posture and future-proofing your operations.
Understanding PKI
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a comprehensive framework that utilizes asymmetric cryptography to secure digital communication over public networks. It involves using cryptographic keys comprising public and private key pairs to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. PKI functions through a system of digital certificates issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA).
These certificates act as digital IDs, binding an individual’s or entity’s identity to their public key. The public key is used for encryption and is widely distributed, while the private key, known only to the entity, is used for decryption. PKI is critical for ensuring secure transactions, data exchange, and communication in the digital space. It achieves this by creating a reliable system for managing cryptographic keys and authentication, establishing trust in the digital environment.
Enterprise PKI Services
Get complete end-to-end consultation support for all your PKI requirements!
Using outdated PKI systems can expose your organization to various risks. Legacy systems may lack the necessary security features, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. These systems may have deprecated algorithms, weak key lengths, or outdated certificate authorities, making it easier for malicious actors to exploit vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access, potentially resulting in:
Data Breaches
Sensitive information becomes readily accessible, causing irreparable damage to your reputation and financial penalties.
Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
Hackers intercept communication streams, impersonate legitimate entities, steal valuable data, or redirect users to fraudulent websites.
Denial-of-Service Attacks
Outdated systems crumble under the weight of coordinated attacks, causing service disruptions and financial losses.
The cyber threat landscape constantly evolves, with hackers employing new techniques and exploiting weaknesses in outdated PKI systems. A modern PKI solution adopts the latest security standards, encryption algorithms, and cryptographic protocols to protect against emerging threats. Upgrading your PKI infuses your security infrastructure with the resilience to mitigate the risks of ever-evolving cyberattacks.
Meet Regulatory Standards
Data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), continually evolve to address new privacy challenges. Compliance with these regulations is a legal requirement and crucial for maintaining customer trust. Upgrading your PKI helps ensure your organization meets the changing regulatory standards, protects sensitive data, and avoids potential legal consequences.
Modern PKI solutions offer enhanced certificate management capabilities, allowing organizations to manage and track digital certificates efficiently. These solutions also provide features like certificate lifecycle management, secure key storage, and automated revocation checks, which assist organizations in meeting compliance requirements. By upgrading, organizations gain the necessary tools to uphold the integrity and confidentiality of their data while satisfying regulatory obligations.
Stronger Authentication and Access
In an age where data breaches continue to make headlines, ensuring robust authentication is crucial. Outdated PKI systems may lack the ability to implement multifactor authentication or employ weak authentication mechanisms. Upgrading your PKI allows you to utilize stronger authentication methods, such as hardware tokens, biometrics, or adaptive authentication, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
Modern PKI solutions provide advanced access control mechanisms, such as role-based access control (RBAC), dynamic access policies, and real-time certificate-based authentication. Upgrading your PKI empowers your organization to implement granular access controls, ensuring only authorized individuals can access critical resources. This helps prevent data breaches and unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information.
Agility and Scalability
Older PKI systems often lack the flexibility to keep pace with dynamic business requirements. These systems may struggle to accommodate new applications, expanding user bases, or changing infrastructure landscapes. The inflexibility of outdated PKI can hamper organizational growth and hinder the seamless integration of new technologies.
A modern PKI solution provides the agility and scalability required to adapt to the ever-changing business environment. Upgrading your PKI allows for quick deployment of certificates, easy scalability to accommodate growing demands and seamless integration with cloud services and IoT devices. By embracing a modern PKI infrastructure, organizations can swiftly respond to evolving technological needs and enhance operational efficiency.
Cost-Efficient Security
Maintaining outdated PKI systems can lead to higher operational costs in the long run. These legacy systems may require manual and time-consuming certificate management and issuance processes, increasing administrative overhead. Moreover, the risks associated with security breaches, non-compliance penalties, and reputational damage can far outweigh the initial cost of upgrading.
Upgrading your PKI offers a cost-efficient approach to security. Modern PKI solutions automate key processes, such as certificate issuance, renewal, and revocation, reducing human errors and streamlining administrative tasks.
Additionally, the enhanced security measures provided by modern PKI reduce the likelihood of costly data breaches. The initial investment in upgrading is offset by long-term savings and a significant return on investment (ROI) in terms of improved productivity and reduced security incidents.
Better User Experience
Outdated PKI systems often frustrate users due to cumbersome certificate renewal processes, frequent password changes, or complex authentication requirements. Users may experience delays in accessing critical resources or encounter compatibility issues with modern applications. These challenges negatively impact user experience and productivity.
By upgrading your PKI, you can improve the user experience by implementing simplified certificate issuance and renewal processes. Modern PKI solutions offer self-service portals, user-friendly interfaces, and seamless integration with popular web browsers and applications. These advancements alleviate user frustration, increase productivity, and enable smooth and secure resource access, resulting in a more positive overall user experience.
Integration with New Tech
Organizations continually explore emerging technologies to stay competitive. Integrating new technologies, such as cloud computing, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT), requires an updated PKI infrastructure to ensure secure communication and data integrity. Upgrading your PKI enables seamless integration with these innovative technologies, laying the foundation for future growth and technological advancements.
Modern PKI solutions offer specialized features and integration capabilities to support emerging technologies. They provide secure connectivity for IoT devices, enable identity management in cloud environments, and facilitate secure transactions in blockchain networks. By upgrading your PKI, you can embrace the potential of emerging technologies while maintaining a robust security posture.
Encryption Consulting’s Managed PKI
Encryption Consulting will completely offload your organization’s Public Key Infrastructure environment, which means we will build the PKI infrastructure to lead and manage the PKI environment (on-premises, PKI in the cloud, cloud-based hybrid PKI infrastructure).
Encryption Consulting will deploy and support your PKI using a fully developed and tested set of procedures and audited processes. Admin rights to your Active Directory will not be required, and control over your PKI and its associated business processes will always remain with you. Furthermore, for security reasons, the CA keys will be held in FIPS140-2 Level 3 HSMs hosted in your secure data center or our Encryption Consulting data center in Dallas, Texas.
How Encryption Consulting Can Help
Encryption Consulting is a consulting company that protects your organization from outside attackers. We offer many services, including certificate and key management, PKI assessment, design, implementation, PKI, and AWS training. Our encryption assessments help you identify any weaknesses in your network. At the same time, we design a roadmap to implement fixes for the security gaps, and we can help implement that roadmap. We can also help you implement and test your Disaster Recovery plan to ensure that no steps are missed, and you are fully protected from malware like Ransomware.
Conclusion
As technology continues to evolve, upgrading your PKI is not just a wise move; it’s necessary to safeguard sensitive data and stay competitive. With proactive measures, you protect your assets and set the stage for sustained growth.
The history of cryptography likely began in encoding secrets of war. It is rather apt then that the common metaphor for the eternal conflict between cyber security and hackers is that of an arms race. New tools in each arsenal rapidly develop and eclipse the capabilities of existing tools and standards. Many early forms of cryptography, such as the Caeser cypher or morse code, relied on simply the secret system. This differs from modern cryptography which relies on key strength to protect the encrypted information. By increasing the length of the keys, we use, we exponentially increase the generation time, but also the time it would take to crack the keys.
The NIST currently recommends 2048-bit RSA keys but if tomorrow an incredibly fast CPU or GPU were to go on the market, that key size may prove insufficient and need to be updated. However, with a larger key size in use, the increased difficulty to crack the key would prove too much even for this hypothetical piece of hardware. In this manner the arms race has been relatively simple of late. However, on the horizon looms what many experts have called the end of modern cryptography. But what does this really mean, and why is increasing key size not the solution?
What the future holds for cryptography?
As stated, we have been coasting for some time in the cryptographic arms race in a period of what might be called relative safety. One must always be active and alert in this field as vulnerabilities can always be discovered in the systems that support cryptography, but for some time the cryptography itself has been relatively solid. RSA was developed all the way back in 1977 and is still in use in some form today.
If anything, this is a strong indication of the relative era of cryptographic safety we have been existing in, that a single standard can have such an enduring legacy in a field commonly described in terms of warfare. So, what threat looms that actually poses a risk to this long enduring form of cryptography? To understand where this threat originates from, we must first understand the basics of how cryptography works.
The radical shift in the cryptography space was based on math. While almost all cryptography is in reality based on math, a specific mathematical property in relation to computation was taken advantage of in the development of RSA. This property is the reason RSA can eventually be compromised by faster and faster CPUs, but key size has always quickly resolved the issue. This property is a form of so-called trapdoor mathematics. In some cases, a mathematical operation is easily calculable in one direction but much more difficult in the other.
Multiplying two numbers together is something you or I can do with some difficulty depending on the size of the numbers, but it is trivial for a computer. Factoring a large number, however, is much more difficult for both a human and a computer. In fact, the larger the number, the longer it takes to factor. This scales exponentially with the number’s size and is the fundamental concept behind mainstream asymmetric cryptography.
The Quantum Threat
While we have danced around the subject up to this point, we will now directly confront the threat to modern asymmetric cryptography: Quantum computers. First, let’s talk about what makes quantum computers different. A quantum computer as opposed to a traditional computer uses qubits instead of bits. A bit can have a value of 0 or 1. Everything in a computer is stored in bits, and operations are done affecting the value of these bits.
A collection of bits is used to store information, the amount of information able to be stored and the computational complexity of operations depends on these bits functioning. A common misconception is that Quantum computers introduce a third state for their equivalent bits, called qubits, a sort of in between state where it is both 0 and 1 simultaneously. The reason for this misconception is that this model of a qubit is easier to understand. But the reality of a qubit is it has the same number of states as a normal bit. So then why is a quantum computer more computationally powerful?
What is a Superposition?
Well instead of storing concrete values of 0 or 1 quantum computers store a superposition. These values have some level of ambiguity, and the degree of ambiguity is somewhat controllable. Instead of offering a third state, we are able to track the outcomes from having both the state of 0 and the state of 1.
So, a quantum computer of equivalent scale to a traditional computer would still have the same number of states but would function as an exponentially scaled number of computers. As a simple model, a collection of four bits in a traditional computer offers 16 possibilities, 2^n where n is the number of bits. A quantum computer offers the same number of qubits and the same number of possibilities, but with superpositions allows you to essentially run 2^n simulations in parallel. By allowing for ambiguity instead of trying a single solution to a given problem, a quantum computer can calculate multiple possibilities with a single operation.
This is the theory behind quantum computing at least. Achieving this effectiveness is not necessarily straightforward but is at least theoretically possible and with multiple players in the quantum space including companies like Google, it may be only a matter of time before we can actually realize this absurdly scaling computational power.
Returning to qubits and superpositions, the above is a simplification, at the end of the day qubits only output 0 or 1. But the key takeaway here is that the qubit is in a sort of in-between state but also there are a countably infinite number of these in-between states leaning more towards 0 or more towards 1. By correctly manipulating the superposition into an ideal state for the problem and the information known, quantum algorithms can solve complex problems however this difficulty in performing the correct manipulation scales exponentially with the size of the problem. It is difficult to know at what point the breaking point will be reached where we are able to solve these problems and gain the full potential of even our existing quantum computers.
Where are Quantum Computers now?
That’s right, there are existing quantum computers. There are computers that have successfully implemented the concept of a qubit. Quantum computers aren’t some far off fantasy, they are a real and present looming invention. They need a lot of perfecting because of the complex math and the scale of the manipulations required in order to make them work as they theoretically should. Current quantum computers are small but as we have seen in the past several decades computer growth, computational growth and the size of processors can grow at ridiculous speeds once the right conditions are found. In 2022 the largest quantum computer currently around was created by IBM with a total of 433 qubits.
For reference, if this computer had the actual theoretical strength of a quantum computer, it would only need 100 qubits to hypothetically eclipse the strength of all computational machines on the Earth. They simultaneously released a smaller but more precise quantum computer. This is one of the many variables that makes it difficult to evaluate when “cryptography will break” the number of qubits and how precise we can manipulate them as well as our understanding of quantum algorithms all work in tandem to determine how powerful a quantum computer actually is.
All of these variables are advancing independently and together in different laboratories so it is difficult to say when this will happen. But what exactly will happen? The world must move forward when, not if, this day finally comes.
Tailored Encryption Services
We assess, strategize & implement encryption strategies and solutions.
There are already post quantum algorithms that will not be trivial for a quantum computer to break; they use different math that is not easily reversible with enough computational power. There’s also symmetric encryption, symmetric encryption is not vulnerable to quantum computers. One of the main reasons that asymmetric encryption is at such a risk is the existence of the public key. As the public key is derived from the private key using mathematical functions and a widely distributed object, the mathematical operations to derive the public key can be essentially reversed with a quantum computer. There are also a variety of post quantum algorithms currently in development. Researching further into post quantum algorithms currently available is a great step in preparing your organization.
But when do we need to be prepared for such an ambiguous date? Is it worth investing in post-quantum infrastructure at this time? The answer to that question really depends on your organization. If you store information that will be dangerous if exposed in 10 years from now, you absolutely need to invest in post-quantum infrastructure now. You might be asking yourself why not just wait. The reality is hackers have been collecting data for years now that is encrypted in transit.
Any data that has traveled over the internet or been accessible remotely, protected only by encryption using non-quantum resistant algorithms, has a strong chance of being stored on someone’s hard drive. Hackers are aware that eventually, this data will be breachable. With the ever-increasing cheapness of storage, it is trivial to store large amounts of encrypted data in an offline hard drive and wait 10 years for the potential payoff. In fact, for a cybercriminal, it would be foolish not to be doing this.
So, the reality of the current situation is with it being potentially just a matter of time before quantum computers threaten the security of everything, investing in post quantum solutions is an absolute necessity for companies looking to protect their image and protect their data.
Conclusion
We have explored the threat to modern asymmetric cryptography: Quantum computers. With this threat and some viable solutions identified, the next action is to gather information pertaining to your organization and its status as post-quantum ready. Identifying what data you have and how important the long-term security of it is can be a difficult task.
By working with Encryption Consulting, your organization will have up-to-date recommendations on the best practices to protect your data and reputation. Encryption Consulting provides a variety of security-related services, including audits that can help ensure your organization is both compliant with the latest standards and is following industry best practices to stay secure moving into the future
