PKI Consortium blog

Why Are You Removing Website Identity, Google and Mozilla?
August 27, 2019 by Kirk Hall (Entrust), Tim Callan (Sectigo) CA/Browser Forum Chrome DV Encryption EV Firefox GDPR Google Identity Malware Mozilla Phishing SSL/TLS

You can’t have consumer privacy without having strong website identity

Today there’s a huge wave toward protecting consumer privacy – in Congress, with the GDPR, etc. – but how can we protect user privacy on the web without establishing the identity of the websites that are asking for consumer passwords and credit card numbers? Extended Validation (EV) certificates provide this information and can be very useful for consumers.

9 Common Myths About CAs
August 1, 2019 by Tim Callan (Sectigo) CA/Browser Forum CASC Code Signing Encryption ETSI Identity Malware PKI Qualified Revocation SSL/TLS Vulnerability WebTrust

Over the years misconceptions about CAs and the SSL infrastructure have arisen. Below is a list of common myths related to SSL and CAs.

Myth #1: CAs are not regulated

Fact: CAs are subject to various checks and balances, including third-party qualified audits through WebTrust or ETSI and strict criteria set forth by leading browsers, before they are accepted in browser root stores. Similarly, the CA/Browser Forum’s Baseline Requirements and Network Security Guidelines establish global standards for certificate issuance and CA controls that will soon be included in third-party auditing standards. Browsers are free to use these requirements to exclude non-compliant CAs from the root store.

What the Latest Firefox Update Means for SSL Certificates
June 14, 2019 by Tim Callan (Sectigo) CASC EV Firefox SSL/TLS Vulnerability

Last month marked the release of Firefox 66, the newest iteration of the ever-popular web browser.  The update adds a number of interesting new features, including improvements to content loading and extension storage, auto-play sound blocking, and support for the AV1 codec (on the Windows version at least).  The search feature has also been improved, and, as is typical of browser updates, a number of known security vulnerabilities have been patched.