Trust is essential in today’s digital world. Yet organizations struggle to build and maintain it. Enterprise IT teams manage thousands of certificates across cloud, on-prem, and IoT environments. At Tech Field Day #XFD12, DigiCert showcased a problem. Enterprises manage an average of 55,000 certificates. In complex enterprises, up to half of the certificates can remain hidden. This gap in visibility creates significant business risk.
The stakes are clear: Even tech giants aren’t immune. In April 2023, an expired TLS certificate caused a global outage at Starlink. It took down its API services for over three hours, affecting users across multiple continents (Reuters, 2023). This incident underscores the critical importance of certificate management. It’s not just a technical issue—it’s a business imperative. Failure to address it can lead to similar disruptions that could impact your organization.
Up to half of these certificates are often missing from Configuration Management Databases (CMDB), keeping them hidden from security teams. These invisible threats, scattered across complex PKI architectures, can trigger network-wide chaos. The consequences go beyond isolated outages. They disrupt revenue, damage brand reputation, and create regulatory risks. As a former IT auditor, I’ve seen trust erode from neglecting certificate management.
The Evolution of Trust
DigiCert insights underscore the transformation in trust management. Organizations have shifted from a few long-lived certificates to many short-lived ones. By 2027, Apple will limit public SSL/TLS certificates to 45 days. The new limit will create new challenges as cloud-native architectures emerge. Digital certificates, when mismanaged, trigger costly outages. A 2023 Ponemon Institute study found that certificate-related outages cost enterprises an average of $3.62 million per incident. This highlights the need for effective certificate management solutions.
This shift requires a major change, as manual tracking isn’t enough. Organizations need automated management and proactive checks.
DigiCert’s Solutions
DigiCert offers solutions to these challenges. Its Trust Lifecycle Manager is a platform for a multi-tenant environment. It centralizes control and enables efficient certificate management across various settings. This tool helps organizations locate, manage, and automate their certificates. It prevents costly outages and maintains digital trust by providing essential oversight.
Looking Ahead
The evolution doesn’t end here. With the looming threat of quantum computing, we must prepare for a new era in cryptography. The urgency is real. History shows that major cryptographic transitions take time. Some organizations needed 7-8 years to move from SHA-1 to SHA-2. DigiCert leads this effort. It provides tools and resources to help organizations navigate the transition.
Call to Action
The message is clear: certificate management is no longer a technical afterthought. It’s a strategic necessity for any organization relying on digital trust.
- Don’t wait for a costly outage to compel action. Check your current certificate management practices. Are you equipped to handle the increasing scale and complexity?
- Explore DigiCert’s Trust Lifecycle Managerfor automated comprehensive certificate visibility and control.
- Begin planning your quantum-resistant cryptography migration. Watch DigiCert’s complete Security Field Day 12 presentationto learn more.
Share your strategies below, and let’s collaborate to build a more trustworthy digital world.
