Stay updated on certificate-related infosec topics, including SSL/TLS, PKI, and digital certificate management for robust cyber security.
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Background for this topic.
Digital certificates are electronic documents that verify the ownership of a public cryptographic key by an individual, organization, or device. Issued by trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs) within a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), certificates enable secure communication by confirming identities and supporting encryption protocols like TLS. They include information such as the subject’s name, public key, issuer, validity period, and digital signature from the CA.
Security concerns with certificates focus on risks like CA compromise or fraudulent issuance, which can allow attackers to impersonate legitimate entities and intercept or alter encrypted traffic. Expired or revoked certificates may cause connection failures or be exploited if clients do not properly validate them. Effective certificate lifecycle management—including timely renewal, revocation checking (via CRLs or OCSP), and monitoring for unauthorized certificates—is essential to maintaining trust and preventing man-in-the-middle attacks or unauthorized access.
Multiple platform certificates used by Android OEM device vendors to digitally sign core system applications have also been used to sign Android apps containing malware. [...]
Multiple platform certificates used by Android OEM device vendors to digitally sign core system applications were utilized by threat actors to sign apps containing malware. [...]
Internet Security Research Group (ISRG), the nonprofit behind Let's Encrypt, says the open certificate authority (CA) has issued its three billionth certificate this year. [...]