Instructor: In this lesson, we will learn
about public key infrastructure or PKI issues.
PKI Issues are problems related
to the management, deployment, and functioning
of the public key infrastructure.
PKI issues undermine the security
of encrypted communications and digital certificates,
and can include misconfigured certificate authorities,
expired or improperly issued certificates and challenges
in certificate revocation
and improper key management or distribution.
Each of these PKI issues can lead to failures
in establishing trust between communicating parties.
Additionally, improper key management
or distribution can result
in unauthorized access or data breaches
as keys may be compromised or used incorrectly.
Let's learn more about
certificate authority misconfigurations, expired
or improperly issued certificates, challenges
in certificate revocation and improper key management
or distribution.
First, we have a certificate authority
or CA misconfigurations.
A certificate authority is responsible
for issuing digital certificates that verify the identity
of users, devices, or organizations.
When a CA is misconfigured, it may issue certificates
improperly or to the wrong parties.
For example, if a CA inadvertently issues a certificate
to an unauthorized user, that user could use the certificate
to impersonate a legitimate party.
This could result in serious security breaches, such
as unauthorized access to sensitive data or systems.
Another example of CA misconfiguration is when a CAs root
or intermediate certificate is not properly secured.
If attackers gain access to the CAs private key,
they could create fraudulent certificates
that appear legitimate,
undermining the entire trust structure
of the public key infrastructure.
This can allow malicious actors to conduct
on path attacks, intercepting
and decrypting encrypted communications between two parties.
An attacker with access
to a compromised certificate authority
or CA could even issue themselves a certificate
for a trusted website such as a bank and use it
to steal credentials or financial information.
So, a CA properly securing itself enables maintaining trust
in digital certificates.
In enterprise environments, organizations
often issue their own internal certificates and even choose
to become their own internal root certificate authorities.
This means the organization is responsible for issuing
and managing digital certificates that verify the identity
of users, devices, and other internal systems.
While this approach can streamline internal operations
and reduce reliance on external CAs, it
also brings the importance of CA configuration
and control to the organizational level.
Any misconfiguration or security flaw
in the enterprise's internal certificate authority
or CA could lead to improper issuance of certificates
or even compromise the entire network security.
So to mitigate the risks of CA misconfiguration
in an enterprise acting
as its own CA, robust security controls must be in place.
These include properly configuring the CA
or certificate authority infrastructure,
securing private keys, using hardware security modules,
and regularly auditing the CA's activities.
Multi-factor authentication
and strict access controls should be enforced to ensure
that only authorized personnel could access
and manage the CA infrastructure.
By carefully managing
and securing the CA, enterprises can ensure
that their internal, public key infrastructure remains
reliable and trusted.
On a larger scale, external root CAs are responsible
for the same things.
Second, we have expired or improperly issued certificates.
Digital certificates have a validity period,
and once they expire,
they're no longer considered trustworthy.
If a certificate expires and is not renewed
in time, users will be unable
to establish secure connections via that certificate.
For example, if a company's website certificate expires
and is not renewed, visitors
to the site will see a warning message
that the connection is not secure.
This could lead to lost business
as users may be justifiably hesitant to proceed
without a secure connection.
Improperly issued certificates can also cause problems.
If a certificate is issued without proper validation
of the requesting party's identity,
the certificate could be used by malicious actors
to impersonate a legitimate organization.
This could lead to phishing attacks or other forms of fraud.
For example, if a certificate authority
or CA issues a certificate to someone who falsely claims
to represent a legitimate company, the attacker could set up
a fake website that appears secure due to their use
of a valid certificate, deceiving users
into sharing sensitive information
like passwords or credit card details.
A more dangerous scenario involves attackers
obtaining certificates for domains that are designed
to look like the legitimate ones.
This is a practice known as domain squatting.
Imagine a legitimate business called mysecurebank.com.
An attacker might register a similar domain
like rnysecurebank.com, where the RN can look like an M
at a quick glance.
If the attacker can obtain a valid certificate
for the fake domain, users might not notice
that slight difference in the domain names
and trust the site
because the browser shows a secure connection.
This can result in users unknowingly entering sensitive
information into an attacker's site leading
to data theft or financial fraud.
So to prevent these types of attacks,
strict validation procedures must be
in place before issuing certificates.
In addition, certificate authorities should thoroughly
vet the identity of the requesting party,
ensuring they have legitimate control over the domain
or organization for which the certificate is being issued.
This can involve multiple layers of verification,
including email validation, business registration checks,
and direct contact with the organization.
By ensuring that certificates are only issued
to verified entities, certificate authorities
can help prevent attackers from misusing certificates
to conduct fraud or impersonation.
Third, we have challenges in certificate revocation.
Revoking a certificate is necessary when it is no longer
valid, such as in cases of compromise, expiration
or organizational changes.
However, revocation can be complicated.
One common issue is the delay
in propagating the revocation information
to all relevant systems.
For example, if an employee leaves an organization
and their digital is revoked, there may be a delay
before all systems recognize
that the certificate is no longer valid.
This delay could allow the former employee to access systems
that they are no longer authorized to use.
Another challenge in certificate revocation is ensuring
that all devices and systems regularly check
for revoked certificates.
If a system does not regularly update
its certificate revocation list or check
with an online certificate status protocol responder,
it might continue to accept a revoked certificate as valid.
For example, if a compromised certificate
is not immediately recognized
as revoked, an attacker could use it
to access secure communications
or resources leading to a data breach.
To address revocation challenges,
organizations should implement systems
that support real-time certificate status checking, such
as the online certificate status protocol.
Regularly updating
and distributing certificate revocation list is
also important to ensure
that all systems have the latest revocation information.
By prioritizing timely and efficient certificate revocation,
organizations can reduce the risk of unauthorized access
and maintain the integrity of their PKI
or public key infrastructure.
Fourth and last, we have improper key management.
Public and private keys must be securely stored
and properly distributed to ensure
that only authorized users have access to them.
If the keys are improperly managed, they can be stolen,
compromised, or misused.
For example, if an organization fails
to protect its private keys and they're stolen,
an attacker could use these keys
to decrypt sensitive data or impersonate the organization
in encrypted communications.
Another issue with key management is improper distribution.
If private keys are accidentally shared
with unauthorized parties
or sent via insecure channels,
they could be intercepted by attackers.
For instance,
if an administrator sends a private key
via email without encryption, a hacker monitoring
the email traffic could capture the key
and use it to gain unauthorized access to secure systems.
So proper key management practices can
prevent these types of risks.
To improve key management and distribution,
organizations can use hardware security modules or HSMs,
or other secure key storage solutions
to protect private keys.
Additionally, keys should only be distributed
through secure encrypted channels.
Finally, regular key rotation policies can
also help reduce the risk of key compromise.
So by implementing deliberate key management practices,
organizations can maintain the security
of the public key infrastructure
and protect sensitive communications and data.
So remember, public key infrastructure
or PKI issues undermine the security
of encrypted communications and digital certificates.
These issues include misconfigured certificate authorities
or CAs, expired or improperly issued certificates
and challenges in certificate revocation
and improper key management.
Misconfigured certificate authorities can lead
to the improper issuance of certificates, compromising trust
and allowing unauthorized access.
Expired or improperly issued certificates
can prevent secure connections or enable attackers
to impersonate legitimate entities.
Next, challenges in certificate revocation can delay
the recognition of compromise certificates,
allowing unauthorized access.
And finally, improper key management can result
in the theft or misuse of keys leading to data breaches
or unauthorized decryption of sensitive communications.