SSL/TLS certificates and HTTPS: are your trust controls keeping up?

TL;DR: SSL/TLS certificates authenticate public keys, encrypt client-server traffic, and underpin HTTPS trust signals such as browser padlocks and certificate validation, according to DigiCert. The practical issue is not whether the protocol exists, but whether teams can maintain certificate lifecycle discipline before expiry, misissuance, or trust failures erode access and confidence.

NHIMG editorial — based on content published by DigiCert: SSL/TLS Certificate: What is it and Why You Need One

By the numbers:

• The most current version of TLS is version 1.3, which was released in 2018.

Questions worth separating out

Q: How should security teams manage SSL/TLS certificate lifecycle risk?

A: They should treat certificates as governed credentials with ownership, renewal, revocation, and validation responsibilities.

Q: Why do wildcard certificates increase operational risk?

A: Wildcard certificates increase risk because one private key can authenticate many first-level subdomains.

Q: How do browser certificate warnings affect identity governance?

A: Browser warnings are the user-facing proof that trust validation failed, which makes them an identity governance problem as much as a technical one.

Practitioner guidance

• Track certificate ownership and expiry dates Maintain a complete inventory of certificates, issuers, domains, and renewal dates so no service depends on an unmanaged trust object.
• Limit wildcard and multi-domain scope where possible Use broader-scope certificates only where the operational need is clear, because one compromised key can affect many services at once.
• Treat trust warnings as incidents Investigate expired certificate, untrusted authority, and chain validation errors as service-affecting identity events.

What's in the full article

DigiCert's full blog covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:

• Step-by-step explanation of the SSL/TLS handshake sequence and how session keys are established.
• Practical comparison of single-domain, wildcard, and multi-domain certificate use cases for domain estates.
• Common browser error states and what each one means during certificate validation.
• Troubleshooting references and certificate checker tools for installation issues.

👉 Read DigiCert's explanation of SSL/TLS certificates and HTTPS trust →

SSL/TLS certificates and HTTPS: are your trust controls keeping up?

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