Recent research has estimated that the Certificate Authority Market will grow from $76 million USD in 2018 to $123.8 million USD by 2023[1]. The major growth driver? It’s not simply companies’ increasing need to build trust among the rapidly expanding online customer base, but rather, major industry changes that are increasing the need for each businesses to expand their digital certificate portfolio.
Frequent replacements
For some time, the movement to reduce certificate life cycles has been steadily increasing, initially from five years to four years, and currently down from three years to two years. In the next year or two, in fact, we may see a dip to one year. The logic here is that, by having to replace certificates more frequently, businesses are increasing the level of security though more frequent validation. However, this thinking also brings with it increased administration and, ultimately, costs. Will the life cycle reduce further? Some advocates believe so, and may even push for re-validation every three months.
HTTPS everywhere
At the same time, HTTPS is everywhere. Browsers like Google (and others) are now marking webpages without certificates as “not secure,” meaning every single site and page accessed in a browser needs HTTPS, regardless of content.
The Internet of Things
But it doesn’t stop there! The internet is evolving so quickly, that the likelihood of connecting countless devices and technologies is quickly becoming a reality, at a time when cybercrime is increasing at an astonishing rate. This means that every device connected to, or communicating via, the internet requires the encryption provided by digital certificates. Failure to recognize this within your business will inevitably lead to a security breach at some point in the future.
Higher validation certificates
Digital certificates are not just designed for security. The different validation levels available actually provide you—the consumer—with different levels of confidence (or trust) in the legitimacy of the website you are intending to visit. Extended validation certificates can give consumers real confidence as they undergo more stringent verification processes, whereas cheaper (and sometimes free) domain validation certificates can easily be obtained by anyone, and hence offer less confidence that you are visiting the authentic website.
For businesses, all these developments mean that now, more than ever, it is imperative to have a comprehensive view of your certificate landscape (both external and internal), as well as a timely replacement strategy that ensure high levels of validation are achievable with minimal administration. With many companies now in to the budget planning cycles, it is time to request a bigger budget!
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If you’d like to discuss how our SSL certificate audit and consultation can help your business, please reach out to us.
[1] https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/certificate-authority-market-worth-123-8-million-by-2023-1027514745