SSL Strategy

Web Security
Enterprise
Security
Identity
Verification
Services
Signing
Services
SSL Overview for Resellers
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
What We’ll Cover
ƒ Understanding SSL
ƒ SSL Handshake 101
ƒ Market Opportunity for SSL
ƒ Obtaining an SSL Certificate
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Web Security
Enterprise
Security
Identity
Verification
Services
Signing
Services
Understanding SSL
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
ƒ Protocol that has become the industry standard for
securing data transmissions on the Internet
ƒ Provides a secure channel in two ways:
ƒ Authenticates the Web server to the client
ƒ Encrypts all the data being sent
ƒ 4 Key components to enable SSL
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
Digital Certificate
Public/Private Key Pair
Session Key
Certificate Authority (CA)
ƒ SSL is established using the SSL handshake
ƒ Server authentication and session key creation take place
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
ƒ Largely invisible to application
ƒ https URLs specifies HTTP over SSL
ƒ Connects to port 443 instead of 80
ƒ Identical in all other respects to HTTP
ƒ All https data is sent via SSL
ƒ Even the requested URL is encrypted
ƒ SSL interacts poorly with virtual hosts that have 1 IP for
multiple domains
ƒ SSL connection is established before any HTTP data is transmitted
ƒ SSL handshake down without the guidance of the Host header
ƒ Web server doesn’t know which certificate to present
ƒ Must set up each domain with a unique IP address
ƒ Does not need to be routable IP (called aliases)
ƒ Web server uses the alias to determine which certificate to present
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Digital Certificates
ƒ Electronic passports that handle the passing of the keys
to:
ƒ Authenticate the Web server
ƒ Encrypt/Decrypt the data passed
ƒ Standard format for all digital certificates is X.509 V3
ƒ Helps define the fields contained in the certificate
ƒ Main components of a certificate include:
ƒ Web server’s public key
ƒ Fully qualified domain name the certificate was issued to
ƒ Name of the holder of the key
ƒ CA’s digital signature
ƒ Validity period
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Digital Certificates (cont.)
ƒ Key Components of an
SSL certificate
ƒ The domain the certificate was
issued to
ƒ Which certificate authority
issued the certificate
ƒ The validity period of the
certificate
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Digital Certificates (cont.)
ƒ Key Components of an
SSL certificate
ƒDigital signature of the
certificate-issuing authority
so that a recipient can verify
that the certificate is real
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Public/Private Keys
ƒ Created when the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is
generated
ƒ CSR is an unsigned certificate which is submitted to the CA
ƒ In SSL they are used to authenticate the identity of the
Web server and encrypt and decrypt the session key
ƒ Private key is kept secret (and very secure) and stays
on the Web server
ƒ Public key is part of the digital certificate and is
available to all
ƒ Public key must be matched to the corresponding
private key for a digital certificate to work
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Session Key
ƒ Created by the browser during the SSL handshake
ƒ Sent to the server via an encrypted message using the server’s
public key
ƒ Used to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged
during the SSL session
ƒ Randomly generated and changes each time
ƒ 128 bit is the standard length for the key (though some
browsers have started to move towards 256-bit)
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Certificate Authority
ƒ Trusted organization that:
ƒ Accepts SSL certificate applications from entities
ƒ Authenticates those applications
ƒWebTrust compliant
ƒFollow steps and procedures outlined in CPS
ƒ Issues certificates
ƒ Maintains status information about the certificates
ƒValidity period, Certificate Revocation Lists, etc…
ƒ Invest in the technologies and resources to support SSL
certificates and assure their certificates are trusted by
Web browsers
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Web Security
Enterprise
Security
Identity
Verification
Services
Signing
Services
SSL Handshake
101
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
SSL Provides: Server
Authentication, Data
Encryption and
Message Integrity
User has a
standard
browser
Web Server
Firewall
Website has a
X.509 Certificate
Signed by a
trusted 3rd party:
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
Web Server
Firewall
User enters
website URL
Browser sends
URL to www
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
Web Server
Firewall
Server
certificate is
sent to browser
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
Web Server
Firewall
Serial Number: 6cb0dad0137a5fa79888f
Validity: Nov.08,2004 Nov.08,2004
Subject / Name / Organization
Locality = Internet
Organization = GeoTrust, Inc.
Organizational Unit = GeoTrust
Class 2 CA - Individual Subscriber
Public Key:
Status: Valid
ie86502hhd009dkias736ed55ewfgk
98dszbcvcqm85k309nviidywtoofk
kr2834kl
Signed By: GeoTrust, Inc.:
kdiowurei495729hshsg0925h309afh
we09721h481903207akndnxnzkjoaio
eru10591328y5
Certificate Includes
Server’s Public Key
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
Web Server
Firewall
The browser
generates a symmetric
key of specified
strength
This will be the
“session key”
1010111101010101010110010
1010111101010101010110010
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
Web Server
Firewall
The browser encrypts
the “session key”
with the webserver’s
public key
(found in the certificate)
1010111100000111010101010
1010111100000111010101010
1010100011101010100101111
1010100011101010100101111
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
Web Server
Firewall
The browser sends the
encrypted
“session key”
to the webserver
0101001010101011001101001
0101001010101011001101001
0010101010010110010101010
0010101010010110010101010
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
Web Server
Firewall
0101010101011101010101111
0101010101011101010101111
The webserver
decrypts encrypted
“session key”
with its private key
1010011010101010001010101
1010011010101010001010101
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL - setting up the
session
The secret key has now
been shared
The encrypted session
is now established
Web Server
Firewall
0010101011001010101110001
0010101011001010101110001
0001010101111010000111000
0001010101111010000111000
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
How the SSL Handshake Works
ƒ
ƒ
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A browser requests a secure page (https://)
The Web server sends its public key with its certificate
The browser authenticates the server by checking the:
1. Is today's date within the validity period
2. Is the issuing CA a trusted CA
3. Does the issuing CA's public key validate the issuer's digital
signature
4. Does the domain name in the server's certificate match the
domain name of the server itself
ƒ
The browser then uses the server’s public key to
encrypt a random session key and sends it to the
server with the encrypted data on the Web page
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
How the SSL Handshake Works
ƒ The web server decrypts the session key using its
private key and uses the session key to decrypt the data
from the Web page
ƒ The web server sends back the requested Web page
data encrypted with the session key
ƒ The browser decrypts the Web page data using the
session key and displays the information
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL Enabled
ƒ Browsers initiate SSL sessions when they connect to a
Web server over https://
ƒ Gold lock icon located in the lower right hand corner
contains the certificate details and lets Web site users
know the site is secure
When a browser connects
to a site that uses SSL –
the URL switches to
https://
Lock symbol means site is
secure and encryption is
enabled.
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Web Security
Enterprise
Security
Identity
Verification
Services
Signing
Services
Market Opportunity for SSL
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
SSL Market Data
ƒ Over *60M active domains
ƒ Approximately 850,000 active digital certificates
ƒ About 1.4% of the 51m domains have an active digital
certificate
ƒ 25% annualized growth in number of active certificates over the
last 12 months
ƒ Expected growth over the next year is greater than 30%
*
Source: http://www.whois.sc/internet-statistics
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Applications of SSL
ƒ Secure browser to Web server communications when
collecting financial and personal data
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
eCommerce sites
Banking applications
User/Member login pages
Sign-up pages
VPN access
Web access to email
Sensitive business information (business partners, remote
offices)
ƒ Secure server to server communications to improve
data and network security
ƒ FTP sites
ƒ Database and application servers
ƒ Communication between email servers
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Value of SSL Certificates
ƒ Information on the Internet is vulnerable to many threats
ƒ Spoofing/phishing
ƒ Eavesdropping
ƒ Data alteration
ƒ SSL certificates safeguard against these threats by
providing:
ƒ Confidentiality to keep data secret from unintended listeners
ƒ Authentication to identify with whom you are dealing
ƒ End-to-end message integrity to ensure the information has not
been altered during transmission
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Online Fraud
A Growing (and costly) Threat
Source: www.antiphishing.org, April 2006
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Other SSL Market Influencers
ƒ Significantly increased Web usage and market and
consumer awareness of SSL
ƒ Technological enhancements have made dedicated
servers and SSL more affordable
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Web Security
Enterprise
Security
Identity
Verification
Services
Signing
Services
Obtaining an SSL Certificate
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Setting Up SSL
ƒ
5 step process to get a certificate:
1.
Company generates the CSR (public/private key pair and
certificate) on the Web server
2.
Company submits the CSR and other order information to CA
through some type of online enrollment process
3.
CA authenticates the Web server/and or Company and verifies
that the requestor is authorized to order a certificate for that
domain
4.
CA signs the certificate (adding their trust to it for browser
recognition) and issues the certificate to the requestor
5.
Company installs the certificate on the Web server
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Self-Signed Certificates
ƒ Companies generate their own certificates by setting up
their own certificate authority
ƒ Extra efforts and resources needed to administer and
manage certificates
ƒ Large up front costs (additional hardware, software,
etc..)
ƒ Not automatically recognized by a user’s browser
ƒUser asked if they want to accept the certificate and secure
connection
ƒ Not recommended for production
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Self-Signed Certificates
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Trusted Certification Authority
ƒ Browser automatically recognizes the certificate and
allows a secure connection
ƒ High ubiquity: root already present in all popular Web browsers
ƒ CA guarantees either the identity of the Web server or
organization
ƒ Long-term stability
ƒ WebTrust compliant
ƒ Practices and controls audited yearly for compliance
ƒ WebTrust seal displayed on site
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Dedicated SSL vs. Shared SSL
ƒ One single fully qualified domain name per certificate
• More credibility with the customer
- Customer won’t experience a domain name change in middle of
shopping experience (i.e. go from http://www.mydomain.com to
https://sharedssl.com/mydomain or https://mydomain.sharedssl.com if
the wildcard method is used)
• Reduces Risk of low-customer confidence
• Same user experience as phishing
ƒ Consumers are more likely to purchase from a site that
uses a dedicated SSL certificate
ƒ Own the certificate and can transfer it with them
ƒ Display site seal with information specific to your domain
ƒ No extra hardware or software to install
ƒ Low cost and easy to manage
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.
Web Security
Enterprise
Security
Identity
Verification
Services
Signing
Services
Questions
© 2004 GeoTrust, Inc. All rights reserved.