With cybercriminals constantly looking for ways to penetrate sites and get access to information that is stored on websites, the need for security and protection of data is only increasing. The Wildcard SSL certificates are highly sought-after by a lot of businesses that want to secure primary and subdomains using the same certificate. Scalability and cost are the major benefits of a cheap wildcard SSL. However, the benefits that promise ease and convenience could be in violation of fundamental principles of security such as confidentiality, integrity and reputational damage.
Are you interested in learning more about the SSL Certificates issued by WC? Continue reading.
What exactly are Wildcard SSL Certificates?
A wildcard certificate is a type of digital certificate that covers a specific domain as well as all its subdomains. Before the domain’s initials, an asterisk and a period are utilized to denote wildcards. Wildcards are commonly utilized to signify wildcards in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates to expand SSL security to other domains.
A conventional SSL certificate is valid only for a single domain like www.example.com. Wildcard certificates for *.example.com is secured by mail.example.com, vpn.example.com, payment.example.com as well as other domains. Nowadays, any company with multiple subdomains must have the use of wildcard SSL certificates to safeguard its security from criminals and hackers. This is the reason why purchasing as well as installing the wildcard SSL certificate for the subdomain comes into play.
Important Wildcard SSL Benefits
1. Unlimitable Subdomain Protection – As mentioned, Wildcard SSL safeguards an infinite number of subdomains – as numerous as your company owns. If you want to add more subdomains that fall within the terms of Wildcard you don’t have to renew it. All new subdomains are covered automatically also.
2. SSL certificate that can save costs- Businesses that has a number of subdomains will require an N SSL Certificates. This result in substantial costs for security of websites. With a wildcard certificates for subdomains an organization is not worried about the price. Companies can acquire an infinite number of subdomains at the same amount as one Wildcard SSL certificate.
This is particularly beneficial especially for medium and small-sized enterprises (SMBs) because of their lack of resources. With the use of Wildcard SSL certificatesfor their website with several sub-domains, they are able to guarantee strong data security and privacy while preserving the budgetary limits.
3. The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Did you have the knowledge that Google offers SSL-enabled websites an increase in search rankings? It’s true, as per the company’s announcement in 2014 that the SSL was an indicator of ranking, and as the community of browsers is working to ensure that encryption is ubiquitous the strength of the signal has increased.
Google rates SSL-secured websites as more secure. Websites could also be flagged as unsecure by Google in the event that there isn’t SSL encryption is present.
4. The Trust of Users: If you compare a secure website to one that is not secure websites will experience higher users’ trust and traffic. Your customers will have faith on your site since it is secure to the highest level. Based on the certificate you choose, WildCard SSL provides domain or business validation. It also assures credibility for your website by providing evidence that a certifier (CA) has endorsed your website, ensuring that it’s secure for transactions online and buying.
5. Compatibility: Wildcard Certificates for Subdomains work with the majority of browsers and servers (desktop as well as mobile). There are many Wildcard companies offer over 99 per cent compatibility with browsers and ensure that users will enjoy a comfortable browsing experience, and not be confronted with the SSL warning message.
6. Simple Certificate Management: Instead of a lengthy and laborious process for managing multiple SSL certs, one Wildcard certificate is set up in a single click and can be used for several sub-domains. Expiry, renewal, reissues, etc. do not require follow-up independently for each certificate. Therefore, managing certificates is easier since companies are not required to rush after storing a number of certificates.
7. Instant Issuance: When the CA examines the documentation of your company including the domain name, business, and ownership, you are able to acquire an Wildcard SSL certificate within just two days. The sub-domains of the domain are included in the certificate, and secured. Also, there’s an initial waiting time to ensure the security of websites using WC SSL Certificates.
Wildcard SSL Certificates Makes Encryption Cheaper, But Less Secure
As with all technologies Wildcard SSL Certificates also have some limitations. For example the extended verification (EV) level of assurance is not available for certificates issued by WC SSL. The security of third- and second-level subdomains is difficult. There are a few other Wildcard certificate risks that outweigh its advantages include:
The primary reason to stay clear of SSL certificates for WC is that they’re vulnerable to attack by phishing. If they are not properly monitored and controlled the certificate could be used by hackers to gain access to the trust.
In the case of hackers infiltrate your domain, secured through an Wildcard certificate, they may be granted the right to create unlimited domains. The most dangerous scenario is that subdomains will appear as if they’re legitimate since they’re protected by their Wildcard certificate. This means that hackers could use subdomains that are not legitimate to conduct phishing attacks.
If you have multiple agents managing the different subdomains of your website, Wildcard certificates necessitate sharing your private key. The use of the same private key on multiple systems can increase the chance of compromise and unauthorised access.
Certain older mobile phones do not accept some older mobile devices don’t recognize the (*) wildcard symbol. If you have a mobile device that isn’t compatible with it you must obtain one certificate.
Avoid Wildcard SSL Certificate Risks
In fact the wildcard SSL certificates can be a good choice as they help save costs and are simpler to manage. But, it is important to manage these certificates with care and be aware. If you experience an attack to secure your network, in order to minimize the damage it is recommended to make use of a unique certificate that is only valid for specific domains.
