Relatively speaking, it’s not what it is worth to you . . . it’s what it is worth to the bad guys!
Relativity. Albert Einstein explained thus: “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.”
What, you might be asking, does AE have to do with IT? Well. . . .
What is the value of a digital certificate?
What is the value of one of the digital certificates within your network?
Conversely, to a bad actor or nation-state, what is the value of one of your networks Certificates of Authority (CA) or Network Keys? What would a bad actor pay or exchange to have the capability, via a compromised Certificate of Authority or Network Key, to access to your network? From which they can set up a man-in-the-middle attack, install malware, and siphon your intellectual property and data?
Well, rather sadly, there is an answer. On the dark web/black market the value of a CA is about $1200. And this is where relativity shines an interesting light on the value of a single digital certificate. That same $1200 buys you a fake US Passport. Spent another way, $1200 will get you two handguns. 12 targeted email account hacks. 48 Targeted DDoS attacks. Or, amazingly, 320 stolen credit cards. To the denizens of the dark web or black market, a great premium (relatively speaking!) is placed upon an open, authorized, stolen code signing certificate. Are yours safe? Is the percentage of your IT budget committed to protecting your certificates commensurate with their relative value? Do you have the capabilities to accurately diagram your digital key map, assess each key, retire out-of-service keys, identify compromised keys, and protect your digital key/certificate environment going forward?
Venafi, an En-Net Manufacturer Partner, can identify, assess, collate and protect your CA and other Digital keys now, and have in place an automated, policy driven, solution for all future digital keys. Protect your network’s data and integrity with an easy to deploy, intuitive, single-pane solution. As the surface area for keys and certificates grows, (all those connected IoT devices you hear about, 30 billion of them by 2020, and all of them pinging networks for keys and certificates), the threat vectors grow, not relatively, but exponentially. Keep your network safe by securing your Network Certs and Keys with Venafi.
Please feel free to reach out to your dedicated En-Net Account Manager for more information about Venafi, or to schedule a network assessment or proof-of-concept demonstration. And please . . . keep you hands off of hot stoves!