In the vertiginous current business panorama, where digitalization advances by leaps and bounds and hybrid work is consolidated, the SAFE MANAGEMENT AND CUSTODY OF DIGITAL CERTIFICATES It has become an unavoidable strategic priority for any organization.
These assets are key pieces of digitalization, essential for authentication on websites, internal systems and applications, as well as for the digital signature of documents and communications, guaranteeing non -repudiation and integrity of information. However, the growing volume of certificates and users who need to use them, as well as the sophistication of cyber attacks to access them, are putting companies in check.
For executive profiles such as CTO and CISO, optimize the management and custody of digital certificates is essential for safeguard the digital identity of the organization and its employees. This is where cloud computing, and more specifically the Cloud managedemerges as a strategic ally, transforming the way companies address this critical task.
The risks of decentralization
Traditionally, the installation and distribution of certificates in the work teams has been a common practice. However, decentralization carries significant risks:
– Complications in the administration: As the volume of certificates and devices grows, its management becomes extremely complex, especially in hybrid work environments.
– Identity unavailability and impersonation: An inefficient management can lead to the unavailability of certificates at critical moments. In addition, unauthorized access to a certificate, either by an external or internal user, can cause an identity supplant.
– Risks of cybersecurity and control: The uncontrolled distribution and the duplicates of certificates seriously harm cybersecurity and identity control. Leaving this decentralization is, therefore, the first step to raise the security of corporate digital identity.
The cloud, a strategic ally for certificate custody
Cloud Computing has proven to be a great business ally to store certificates safely. Its inherent advantages position it as a key technology for organizations by:
– Cost reduction: It allows large initial investments on servers and hardware, as well as lower maintenance expenses compared to local infrastructure.
– Scalability and availability: It offers a practically unlimited capacity to adapt to changing needs, guaranteeing remote access to resources.
– Security Guarantees: Cloud suppliers offer safety measures and advanced certifications.
The commitment to the cloud managed
While the public cloud offers huge benefits, many organizations value the exclusivity of a private cloud. This is where the managed cloud is presented as the optimal solution, combining the best of both worlds: exclusivity similar to the private cloud with the scalability and flexibility of the public cloud.
In a cloud environment managed, an external entity, known as Managed service provider (MSP), assumes the comprehensive administration of the cloud infrastructure of the company. This releases the IT teams internal to recurring operational tasks such as updates, backups, monitoring and maintenance, etc.
In the case of Redtrustin addition to offering the solution for the centralization of digital certificates, the company acts as MSP, managing, managing and optimizing the cloud environment where these assets are guarded, while companies can focus on establishing the control and supervision mechanisms on them.
Cloud gestionado vs on-premises
The centralization of digital certificates in a cloud environment managed offers significant advantages over the on-prior infrastructure environments.
Starting with costs and safety, since the cloud of them is generally a more profitable option, by eliminating the initial investment in hardware and reducing maintenance expenses. In addition, cloud suppliers have International certifications and advanced controls that guarantee the safety of infrastructure and data. This, added to the security standards and procedures applied by the MSP, carries the protection of the certificates to the next level.
In on-premises environments, the deployment of local servers implies an initial and recurring high investment, including hardware renewal. Maximize security entails a considerable increase in technological investment.
As for scalability and flexibility, these cloud environments are highly flexible and offer a Scalability practically unlimitedadjustable according to the cloud service provider. They allow to respond almost immediately to specific needs, such as the increase in the number of employees who need to access certificates or the volume of said assets, without compromising performance, in the face of on-premises environments where their own infrastructure is less flexible and scalability requires additional investments of excessive operating resources and costs.
On the other hand, at the security level it is fundamental when the managed cloud is implemented under a single-teenant architecture, that is, it unfolds as a dedicated and exclusive environment for a single company. Certificates are guarded in an isolated environment (whether corporate or third parties), being protected from incompatibilities or vulnerabilities that may arise in these others.
The MSP is in charge of the integral management of the environment in a managed Cloud model. On the other hand, in On-Premises, all tasks related to such management are the responsibility of the company itself.
Redotrust: Protecting corporate digital identity
The Redotust implementation allows companies to transfer the custody of their digital certificates to an independent and independent repository, facilitating centralized management. This guarantees the interoperability, safety and availability of assets, regardless of the location of employees and without depending on local facilities. The main advantages of centralization through Redtrust include:
– Advanced permissions: Possibility of precisely limiting what employee each certificate can use, for what and when. Even configure MFA through a PIN code, as well as temporarily enable or disable the use of a certificate.
– Life cycle management: Create expiration alerts to anticipate your expiration date.
– Total traceability: Consult in real time each process carried out with the certificate, either of authentication or digital signature.
– Regulatory compliance: Centralization positively impacts regulatory compliance, aligning with regulations such as GDPR, which require technical and organizational measures to protect digital identities.
Redotust’s managed cloud is offered as an exclusive environment, deployed as an instance dedicated to the servers of a cloud collaborating provider. This makes it ideal for medium and large companies with a high volume of employees who use certificates and seek to separate their IT team from infrastructure management, in addition to taking advantage of the advantages provided by Cloud.
Additionally, Redtrust has ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and TESwhich, together with the accreditations of the Cloud supplier, maximize the security of the certificate custody process.
In short, centralizing the management of certificates in the cloud managed of Redtrust not only reinforces the protection of corporate digital identity, but also frees organizations to focus on the essential: to innovate and grow in a safe digital environment.
Use: If you want more information, you can download the Whitepaper «Advantages of the centralization of digital certificates in a managed cloud»
Marc Meseguer
Team Lead, Cloud Engineering en Redtrust
