As the importance of secure authentication continues to rise, many organizations are looking for lightweight, cost-efficient solutions to their cybersecurity concerns. This has caused many to question the efficacy of credential-based authentication and has sparked interest in certificate-based authentication.
But the use of certificates for authentication takes organizations to a fork in the road; do they use a managed PKI, or a private PKI. In rare circumstances a private PKI is desired, but the overall usability, strong cybersecurity, and ease of configuration of a cloud-based managed PKI provides a managed solution that is most effective for a majority of organizations.
Effective Uses of an Enterprise PKI
When an organization configures an Enterprise PKI, the primary purpose of this technology is to efficiently distribute certificates for secure authentication and other related uses. It facilitates simple Intermediate and Root CA creation, from which the certificates are distributed. The certificates distributed to end users can be easily customized using custom certificate templates and identity-driven certificate issuance policies. By creating use policies and group policies tailored for your organization, you can easily manage the users on the network and ensure everyone has the particular access they require.
SecureW2’s managed PKI provides software to maximize the effectiveness and usability of the network. We have perfected the software services needed to issue and install certificates for BYODs, Managed Devices, Smart Cards, IoTs, email clients, and more on every major operating system.
The JoinNow onboarding client allows users to self-configure their devices in minutes and guarantees rapid and accurate certificate onboarding for every network user. For organizations that combine BYOD and managed devices services, our certificate gateway APIs integrate with every major MDM and allow certificate auto-enrollment with no end user interaction. And your email security has never been stronger with S/MIME certificates for secure email signatures and encryption. Any device in your network can be equipped with a powerful certificate.
Additionally, many organizations that have switched to a managed Enterprise PKI have been able to replace or improve upon AD CS. By leveraging our best-in-class certificate issuance and management features, organizations are able to upgrade from running AD CS by itself and experience cost savings and security improvements.
SecureW2’s certificates are protected by an HSM and are tied to the users’ devices so they cannot be stolen or exported. Every step and transition the certificates go through is highly secure. SecureW2’s dedication to maintaining security has been proven time and again and provides organizations’ peace of mind that their network is secure.
Unique Benefits of Enterprise PKI
At its core, certificates are a far superior form of authentication for your network and have a wide variety of uses that can be exploited for the organization’s benefit. Whether it be authentication for Wi-Fi, VPN, email, or others, your network users will be securely connected and will not have to deal with the shortcomings of passwords.
From the perspective of network administrators and managers, the benefits of a managed Enterprise PKI are tremendous. It comes with a dedicated PKI team from your vendor, so you don’t have to go through the process of hiring new employees or expanding the responsibilities of your existing IT team. Many organization’s IT teams are stretched thin, so having reliable support for all things PKI-related is key.
SecureW2 also offers a wide array of powerful management software tools that simplify the Enterprise PKI management experience. They allow for full customization of certificate services and policies to fit your organization’s needs. Options such as segmenting user groups, enforcing use policies, and regulating access to resources are a few of the numerous customization options.
All of these tools are made available through cloud-based services, which are known to be stronger than on-premise configurations. SecureW2’s managed PKI is ISO 27001 certified and backed by impenetrable Amazon Cloud Infrastructure. Along with stronger security, cloud-based security boasts significant cost savings compared to on-premise setups. With built-in redundancy and infinite scalability, you only ever pay for what you need with a managed PKI. There are no in-house maintenance costs over time and no need to build new security systems to house new servers.
The services provided by an Enterprise PKI simply improve upon the shortcomings of credential-based security or a private PKI. Organizations with a focus on security, efficiency, and cost savings should look first to upgrading their network with a managed PKI.
