Do SSL Certificates Really Secure Websites from Hackers?
Everyone who is connected to the internet can become a target to cybercriminals and hackers. It might come as a huge surprise to several readers when they hear that approximately 30,000 websites get hacked daily.
Another interesting stat to note is that nearly 64 percent of companies have already experienced a type of cyber-attack.
This is one of the major reasons why businesses of all types and sizes should consider using SSL certificates on their website. However, several business owners might not really know what SSL is and how it can protect your website from data breaches and other cyber-attacks.
There is no denying the fact that internet security is a major concern for all businesses. Several business owners and analysts often ask can HTTPS be hacked and if upgrading to HTTPS from HTTP by using an SSL certificate is enough to protect their website or not.
Most of you would probably know SSL and other digital certificates are essential for securing communications. Unfortunately, there has been a significant increase in the number of digital certificate attacks, which has left several businesses concerned and worried.
The Increase in Digital Certificate Attacks
As mentioned earlier, digital certificates serve the crucial purpose of securing online communications. However, digital certificates can also be a target for hackers and cybercriminals.
SSL and other digital certificates enable businesses to build authenticity and trust for users from all over the world. Digital certificates authenticate websites, software solutions, and secure email.
These digital documents can be issued to a web server, private company, or person and it is done by a CA or Certificate Authority.
Digital certificates are a hot target for hackers and cybercriminals due to a few reasons. However, the main reason is that digital certificates are widely trusted. This is because digital certificates verify that the organization or person is genuine along with ensuring that the digital certificate really belongs to them.
As a result, end-users will believe that their browsing session that is protected by SSL or any other digital certificate, is a secure and secure environment, where they can share their personal information including financial details without any worries.
Attacks on digital certificates can be carried out for several reasons. For instance, hackers may leverage intercepted or stolen digital certificates for improving malware diffusion or to make sure that their attacks will not be identified by anti-malware solutions, anti-virus, and other traditional security tools.
Several phishing campaigns have leveraged genuine SSL certificates to seem authentic and genuine. This type of tactic is reportedly used in MiTM attacks, economic fraud, and cyber warfare for delivering malware into the system of the victim.
Is Too Possible to Hack SSL Certificates
If you are someone who has installed an SSL certificate on your website, then you would be probably wondering if they are infallible as everyone is claiming to be. In other words, you will be wondering if the SSL certificate on your website can be hacked or not.
Indeed, it is not technically possible to hack SSL certificates because the chances of it happening are very slim. To make things simple for you, we will be discussing why SSL certificates are hard to compromise in this article. If you are planning to purchase an SSL certificate, then we will explain how you can strengthen the effectiveness of the certificate.
SSL Certificates Will Not Prevent Your Website from Getting Hacked
SSL certificates ensure that the connection between the web server and the client is encrypted via the TLS (Transport Layer Security) Protocol. In other words, SSL certificates guarantee that any communication that is sent over the encrypted connection can be read, only by the recipient and the sender.
This means that unauthorized individuals will not be able to intercept messages that are transmitted over an encrypted connection. This is what SSL certificates do, which means that they mainly protect communications and keep information private and safe.
SSL certificates will not help businesses to prevent their websites from getting hacked. It is true that SSL certificates play a critical role when it comes to website security.
However, they are not a single-stop solution that will help you to keep your website away from hackers.
You should invest in a single domain SSL if the budget is your concern like a cheap RapidSSL certificate and expect your website to be secure and safe. Besides SSL cert, you will need to implement several other security measures.
The Hackability of SSL Certificates
It is important to address the possibility of SSL certificates getting hacked. In fact, this is something all business owners should consider when they are looking to offer adequate protection for their website.
As discussed earlier, the chance of SSL certificates getting hacked is very less, but it isn’t impossible.
Digital messages that are sent between a web server and a browser will be encrypted by using a 256-bit private key in the case of TLS 1.3. 256 bits refers to the strength and length of the private key.
Hackers who are planning to crack a private key will have to identify 2×256 number combinations, which is almost 115 quadrillion different combinations. This means that it will be hard for humans to identify the right combination and crack the private key.
Several experts in the field of website and data security believe that quantum computers might be able to do it someday.
However, the ones that are currently available in the market do not have the capacity to do that. So, you don’t really have to worry about someone hacking the SSL certificate on your website.
Tips To Strengthen Your SSL Certificate
It is highly unlikely that the SSL certificate on your website will get hacked. That said, there are several other ways, through which SSL and digital certificates can be compromised. Here are some of the best ways that will help you to strengthen your SSL certificate.
Protect The Private Key
Hackers and cybercriminals will not have to guess anything if they get access to your private key. If you feel that your private key has become compromised, then it is best to reissue your SSL certificate as fast as possible.
Disable TLS Protocol’s Older Versions
The SSL certificate on your website is only as strong as the server configurations of the site. Therefore, you will need to make sure that the settings support just TLS 1.3 and 1.2 along with ensuring that the older versions of the TLS protocol are disabled.
SSL Renewals
If the SSL certificate on your website expires before you can renew it, then it will leave your website vulnerable to MiTM (man-in-the-middle) attacks. So, you will need to check the expiration date of the SSL certificate and renew it at least a few days in advance.
Final Thoughts
From this article, you would have probably understood that it is nearly impossible to hack SSL certificates. That said, it is crucial to take the necessary steps to make sure that your website is fully protected.
You should also stop relying just on an SSL certificate for website protection if you want to stay away from cyber-attacks.
