8 Digital Certificate Trends To Watch Out For In 2021 and Beyond

A 2020 Global Pki And IoT Trends Study reveals that there has been an increased rate in the usage of technical certificates. The reason for the overreliance on digital certificates is the roles they play in ensuring website secure networks.

There is no doubt that Secure Sockets Layer certificates are now the standards for securing the internet. Without an SSL certificate, data and sensitive communication will become vulnerable to malicious individuals who might want to use them for nasty reasons.

Transport Layer Security (TLS), popularly referred to as an SSL certificate, has undergone serious evolution and development to improve its functionality. 2021 has seen a majority of these trends, and 2022 might have more in store. This article digs deep into the vital trends for technical certificates that we should all brace ourselves to witness.

1. Increased Automation of Technical Certificates

One of the most popular trends we are witnessing in digital certificates is automation. However, there have been human errors in the past, especially during certificate renewals, which led to the expiry of SSL certificates, thus leaving the domains exposed to cybersecurity threats.

Automation in certificate renewals has come in to reduce the risks associated with nonrenewals. Through automation, little human intervention is required when renewing certificates. Considering the role of brand protection, it is easy to conclude that the automation trend will gain extensive traction in the remaining part of 2021 and in years to come.

2. Reduced SSL Validity Period

Popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari have all resolved to use shortened certificate validity periods. From the 1st of September, 2021, all certificate providers will not be allowed to issue SSL certificates with a two or more years validity period. The technical certificates industry now has a new policy where the maximum validity period of SSL/TLS certificates has been reduced to 398 days. Some certificate authorities, however, have a 397 validity period to account for the time zone differences.

The change in the SSL validity period will apply to all the publicly trusted technical certificates. It will also impact all the pending 2-year SSL certificates that would not have been issued by the 27th of August, 2021. All two-year certificates issued before or on the 27th of August 2021 will remain valid until the expiry of the two-year validity period.

For a website secure network, you must note this change not to be caught up in the mix.

3. Certificate Consolidation

Managing multiple SSL certificates from multiple providers has always proved too difficult. One will need to buy SSL certificates from different providers or resellers, install, renew and manage different SSL certificates, which might not be easy.

The only viable solution to handling multiple certificates from multiple resellers is consolidating your certificate needs from many certificate providers or resellers to a single provider. With this, you will only need to have a single purchase, installation, and renewal.

Most webmasters have now resolved to use this well-thought-out strategy. Moreover, we are bound to see even more certificate consolidations in the future because of the convenience that comes with it.

4. The Impact of SSL Certificates on Google Rankings

Although this trend has been around since 2015, I must reiterate it. Search engines have continued to pay much attention to the security of the internet. It is their mission to ensure that they try to make the internet as safe as possible. One of the things that search engines have done to try and spark internet security is by ranking HTTPS websites higher than HTTP websites in search engine results pages.

Website owners should choose between having technical certificates and ranking high in search engines or failing to have the certificates and watch their traffic dwindle. Most website owners have now chosen to work with SSL certificates. Perhaps this explains why 93.2% of web pages on Google Chrome are served over HTTPS websites. 

A past study has shown a positive correlation between having an HTTPS website ranking high in search engines. Would you wish to encrypt your data and improve your SEO, or would you like to expose your data to hackers and not be visible in search engines? The decision is yours to make.

5. The Era of Document Signing Certificates

It is no secret that we have completely become a digital and paperless society. As we move in this direction, hackers are on the watch. They lay their baits to try and reach out to our digital resources. As it has emerged, the only viable solution to protecting our “paperless society” against data breaches is through data encryption. And what role does a perfect data encryption play other than the technical certificates?

We have already seen agreements being signed digitally, which increases the demand for secure certificate signing solutions. Perhaps this explains why we have seen an increased demand for digital certificates.

6. Cheap Digital Certificates

Today, no webmaster has a reason for not encrypting their data. Apart from the many cheap SSL certificate options available on the market, SSL2Buy brings you premium SSL certificates right at your doorstep at inexpensive prices.

The use of inexpensive SSL certificates for additional domains has been the order of the day. No encryption problem comes with using a cheap SSL certificate. The thing is, whether you are using a pocket-friendly SSL certificate or the most expensive SSL certificate, the strength of encryption will remain the same (256-bit encryption).

7. Verified Mark Certificates

Verified Mark Certificates (VMC) are another important form of technical certificates, although they are still in their pilot stages. These certificates will play the critical role of authenticating the origin of an email. To confirm the sender of the mail, the verified mark certificate will display the sender’s logo. The VMC will become one of the most vital upgrades in the overall security of the internet.

Not only will the verified mark certificates protect your brand from insecurity threats, but they will also make your brand more credible in the eyes of investors and your clients.

8. The Move Towards Multi-Domain and Wildcard SSL Certificates

Most website owners now prefer multi-domain and Wildcard SSL certificates. This is because of their ability to secure multiple domains and an unlimited number of subdomains. In addition, with Wildcard SSL certificates, you do not have to purchase a single certificate for every extra first-level subdomain.

Some of the reasons people prefer multi-domain and wildcard SSL certificates are their ability to save on costs, time, installation hassle, and certificate management. With this category of certificates becoming increasingly convenient, let us brace ourselves to see even more and more dominance of these certificates.

Conclusion

With increasing cybersecurity threats and data breaches and vulnerabilities, nothing is as vital as data encryption. Digital certificates have now become more vital than ever before. They are slowly evolving to improve their functionality aimed at fulfilling their purpose. Those who will see value in the certificates are those who adapt to change. It all starts by understanding some of the emerging trends for technical certificates. This article has discussed some of the certificate trends that we should all watch out for.