User Manual

Cybersecurity Basics
SSL Certificates
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How to know if a website is secure
The presence of an SSL certificate helps in determining whether or not a website is
secured. Websites secured with an SSL certificate have a green address bar, a green
padlock symbol near the URL and also have HTTPS as the prefix to their URL. All
these indicators help in determining whether or not a website is enough secure.
Factors to consider before buying an SSL Certificate
There are several factors to consider before choosing a certificate.
● Speed of issuance
● Warranty period
● Type of validation
● Domains and subdomains covered
● Market reputation of the brand
What is the SSL Certificate
The SSL certificate (also known as digital certificate) plays an important role in
securing the communication between two systems.
The SSL certificate is a data file issued by the authorized Certificate Authority (CA). As
stated in the previous chapter, SSL uses asymmetric cryptography to establish an
encrypted link between the two systems using a key pair (public key and private key).
The SSL certificate contains the owner's public key and other details. The web server
sends a public key to the browser through an SSL certificate and the browser verifies
it and authenticates the web server using the SSL certificate.
The X.509 standard defines the format of the digital certificate. SSL uses the X.509
format. In other words, SSL certificates are actually X.509 certificates.
The SSL certificate in X.509 format includes the following information:
● Version: The version number of the certificate data format as per X.509.
● Serial number: Unique identifier of the certificate assigned by the CA
● Public Key: The owner's public key
● Subject: Owner's name, address, country and domain name
● Issuer: Name of the CA who issued the certificate
● Valid-From: The date the certificate is valid from
● Valid-To: The expiration date
● Signature Algorithm: The algorithm used to create the signature
● Thumbprint: The hash of the certificate
● Thumbprint Algorithm: The algorithm used to create a hash of the certificate
Types of SSL Certificates
There are different types of SSL certificates available today based on the validation
level and the number of domains they secure. The encryption levels remain the same
for all types of certificates, but the validation levels and appearance are different.
There are many different types of SSL certificates based on the number of domain
names or subdomains owned, such as:
● Single – secures one fully qualified domain name or subdomain name
● Wildcard – covers one domain name and an unlimited number of its subdomains
● Multi-Domain – secures multiple domain names
And the level of validation needed, such as: