The security of the digital certificate

The objective of any company is to use the digital certificate in a secure way, either to carry out procedures with the Public Administration, customers or suppliers: signing contracts, buying and selling operations, etc.

The great challenge for companies is to implement tools that protect their electronic communications and allow them to work with peace of mind. Discover how to protect your digital certificates and work without being afraid for the security of your company.

Do we use digital certificates securely?

The use of the digital certificate is more than widespread in the business world, especially since the entry into force of Law 39/2015.  However, it is frequent to fall into mistakes that lead us to an inadequate use of digital certificates. Some examples are:

• Assuming that a certificate is secure in itself. The fact of operating with a digital certificate does not mean that the operation made is protected from any cyber attack. The security of a digital certificate depends on its reliability. To do this, it must be issued by a Certification Authority and cryptographic hardware (HSM) must have been used.

• Exposure of keys. A digital certificate has a private key and a public key (with which the user operates). The private key should not be accessible, since it guarantees the security of the certificate and prevents third parties from accessing to it. This key must be guarded by the issuing body.

• Sharing digital certificates without control. It is common for employees to share and install certificates on their computers without any control. This is a dangerous practice, especially in larger companies that use numerous certificates.

• Not revoking the certificates. In case we lose a certificate or we want to remove the access permission to an employee, for example, it is important to revoke the digital certificate. This way, we annul its validity and avoid that an undue use of the same one is made.

How companies protect digital certificates?

Previously we have mentioned to you some of the most important points to consider in order to protect the security of the digital certificate. Every precaution you take regarding the security of your company’s information is a minor one.

Each company has the responsability of using its digital certificates safely. Data security is not a game.

We recommend you to implement tools that will help you, not only to work in a safe and controlled way, but also to take the management of your company one step further in terms of digitization.

The significance of centralizing your certificate

In order to protect the digital identity of companies and avoid bad practices, the centralization of certificates allows to manage those certificates from a single platform. In addition, it avoids the risk of information theft and cyber attacks.

IvSign, a platform of issuance and centralization of certificates that manages and controls its use in real time. In addition, it is a cloud tool that collects an audit of use, so we know at all times who, when and for what uses the digital certificate.

Don’t you have your certificates centralized yet? Try IvSign for free and work with your certificates from any place and from any device.