PKI Consortium blog

What Are the Different Types of SSL Certificates?
August 7, 2013 by Dean Coclin DV Encryption EV Identity Phishing SSL/TLS
Domain Validation (DV) A Domain Validated SSL certificate is issued after proof that the owner has the right to use their domain is established. This is typically done by the CA sending an email to the domain owner (as listed in a WHOIS database). Once the owner responds, the certificate is issued. Many CAs perform additional fraud checks to minimize issuance of a certificate to a domain which may be similar to a high value domain (i.

5 Tips for SMBs to Help Secure Their Online Presence
June 17, 2013 by CA Security Council CASC Identity Malware SSL/TLS Vulnerability
With National SMB Week upon us, the CASC has come up with its five tips for SMBs to help secure their online presence. By implementing these simple steps SMBs can build trust and loyalty by ensuring their website is safe to visit, search, enter personal information, or complete a transaction. Create unbreakable passwords – Strong passwords are essential on any account related to your online presence (domain registrar, hosting account, SSL provider, social media, PayPal, etc.

The Importance of Revocation Checking Part 2: A Real World Example
March 11, 2013 by Wayne Thayer Attack Code Signing CRL Encryption Identity Malware OCSP Revocation SSL/TLS
Just last week, a new security incident related to certificate revocation checking made headlines. It was discovered that a legitimate website was hosting a malicious Java application that installed malware on the computers of people who visited the site. This comes after recent updates that introduced Security Level settings in Java, and then raised the default from Medium to High. At the high level, users are shown a warning before any unsigned Java code is executed.

The Importance of Checking for Certificate Revocation
March 9, 2013 by Rick Andrews Attack CRL Identity Malware MITM OCSP Revocation SSL/TLS
Certificates are typically valid for one to three years, and during that time it’s possible that the web site owner or the CA realizes that end users should not trust the certificate. There are several cases in which this might happen, including these: The web site owner ceases doing business, no longer owns the domain name used in the certificate, has changed their organization name, or wishes to shut down the web server.

CASC Happenings at RSA
February 25, 2013 by CA Security Council Attack CASC Identity PKI RSA SSL/TLS
We are excited to have members of the CASC attending and speaking at this year’s RSA Conference. The events and panels will cover various topics that revolve around the security of the Internet and CAs as a whole. You can follow the CASC on Twitter for more information and news at @CertCouncil, as well as see some of the presentations after the events on our SlideShare page. Please join us for the following CASC member events: