Case Study

1,800 Stores. One Broken PKI. A Security Foundation Rebuilt to Scale.

How Encryption Consulting found the cryptographic and governance gaps in a national retail chain’s PKI and laid out a roadmap to fix them.

Customer Profile

One of the largest farm and ranch retail chains in the United States, with 1,800+ stores across 40+ states serving recreational farmers, ranchers, and rural homeowners.

Industry

Retail (Farm, Ranch & Rural Supply)

Engagement Type

PKI Assessment & Remediation Roadmap

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At a Glance Outcome

60%+

Keystores carrying weak 1024-bit keys

2048-bit+

New minimum key length standard

FIPS 140

HSM standard for CA key generation

Prioritized remediation roadmap delivered

The Enterprise

Challenges

The retail chain's PKI had outgrown its governance and visibility. Certificates went untracked, keys were poorly protected, and a single compromise could spread across thousands of stores before anyone noticed.

No governance or policy backbone

No CP/CPS or governance program for private/public CAs. Core documentation, change management, and Business Impact Analysis are all missing.

01 GOVERNANCE

Cryptographic standards dangerously outdated

60%+ of keystores on 1024-bit keys with no HSM protection, misaligned Root CA signing, an over-long Root CA validity period, undefined path length, and missing CA Policy files.

02 CRYPTOGRAPHY

Certificate lifecycle managed by email

No CLM, renewals tracked by email with no inventory or CSR approval, templates issued without key recovery, and Supply Chain importing self-signed certs into MDM without chain validation.

03 LIFECYCLE

The chain’s PKI had drifted into a state where governance, cryptography, and lifecycle management were all running on assumption rather than control.

Encryption Consulting Assessment Team

ENTERPRISE CHALLENGES SUMMARY: ENCRYPTION CONSULTING · PKI ASSESSMENT

Our Offered

Solutions

Three workstreams covered the findings. PKI maturity was scored against the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) framework, and recommendations were ranked by risk and sequenced into a phased roadmap.

Capability 01

Cryptographic & Infrastructure Foundation

Move to Windows Server 2022+ on FIPS 140-2/3 Level 3 HSMs, enforce 2048-bit minimums, realign Root CA signing, and roll out a formal CP/CPS with CA Policy files and Microsoft Strong Certificate Mapping (SID).

Capability 02

Certificate Lifecycle Automation

Deploy CLM for automated discovery and renewal, a formal CSR approval workflow, and a central template inventory. Standardise issuance with key recovery enabled, and enforce chain validation for external certs entering MDM.

Capability 03

Access Control & Key Management

Enforce least privilege, separation of duties, and TPI across all PKI roles. Add formal key destruction, recovery, and revocation procedures, a managed key inventory, and oversight of compromised certificates.

Capability 04

Operational Resilience & Governance

Forward CA logs to SIEM with auditing, health monitoring, and quarterly config reviews. Stand up a governance program, RACI, DR, risk/compliance monitoring with RTOs, plus a data sovereignty assessment and PKI/HSM training.

The result is a PKI that is governed, automated, and cryptographically sound, where it used to be reactive and undocumented.

Encryption Consulting Assessment Team

ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY: ENCRYPTION CONSULTING · PKI SERVICES

The Overall

Business Outcome

The roadmap gave the retail chain a prioritized plan to close cryptographic gaps, set up governance, and keep PKI operations running reliably across 1,800+ stores.

Cryptographic risk scoped for elimination

60%+ of keystores on weak 1024-bit keys flagged; roadmap mandates 2048-bit minimums, HSM protection, least privilege, and formal key destruction.

A path to operational continuity

Automated CLM ends missed renewals across 1,800+ stores; SIEM, health monitoring, and formal revocation keep every certificate and key accounted for.

Governance and capability foundations laid

CP/CPS, RACI, DR, and risk monitoring with RTOs deliver accountability; data sovereignty assessment plus PKI/HSM training build lasting in-house expertise.

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