Wildcard Certificate Security Risk

Benefits of Wildcard SSL Certificate

As we all know, corporations use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates for their domains in order to maintain data security and to restore consumer confidence in their products and services. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard security technique that allows companies to establish an encrypted connection between a web server and a client.

As a result, attackers will be unable to intercept data flow (between a web server and a client) and use the information obtained. An SSL certificate is a must-have for every business that conducts e-commerce or collects sensitive information.

The advantages of having an SSL Certificate are innumerable; yet, if a new firm intends to have multiple subdomains under a single domain, this can be a difficult operation to accomplish. Wildcard SSL Certificates have proven to be quite beneficial for such websites, as they have reduced their time and expenses.

What is a Wildcard SSL Certificate?

An SSL certificate with a private key that can secure all connected (unlimited number of) first-level subdomains of the parent domain eliminates the need to purchase separate SSL certificates for each of them. Using this feature, you can select extra hostnames to be secured by a single certificate. These can include email addresses, IP addresses, URLs, DNS names, and so on. Briefly stated, a Wildcard SSL Certificate allows you to secure an unlimited number of sub-domains under a single domain name.

As an illustration:

A single wildcard certificate for the domain https://*.https.in will secure all of the subdomains on the https://*.https.in domain, including the following subdomains:

payment.https.in \scontact.https.in \slogin-secure.https.in \swww.https.in
Let’s take a look at the advantages of Wildcard SSL Certificates and why you should consider purchasing a wildcard SSL certificate.

SSL Certificate with Wildcard Characters

Benefits of Wildcard SSL Certificate

Secure Sub-Domains for an Infinite Number of Years
Because website security is becoming increasingly vital, a wildcard SSL certificate can be used to protect not only a domain, but also an unlimited number of sub-domains. Users can secure an unlimited number of sub-domains under a domain name with a single Wildcard SSL Certificate.

SSL certificate with cost-saving features
An organisation with a large number of sub-domains must deploy a large number of SSL Certificates, resulting in a significant amount of money being spent on website security. Organizations do not have to be concerned about the high cost of obtaining a wildcard SSL certificate, though. Organizations can secure an unlimited number of sub-domains with a single Wildcard SSL certificate, and there is no additional charge for this. Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) prefer to use a Wildcard SSL certificate for their website.

SSL Administration Made Simple
Wildcard SSL Certificates not only save you money by allowing you to secure an unlimited number of sub-domains, but they also make things simpler to administer. Even with a controlled interface, deploying 15 distinct SSL certificates will be a burden if you have a large number of them to handle. Furthermore, you will be required to repeat the practise at each renewal, which will consume a significant amount of your time and resources.

Certificates are issued in the shortest time possible.
Customers can obtain a Wildcard SSL certificate in as little as two days because the certificate does not require the same lengthy verification processes as an extended validation (EV) certificate. If the CA uses the domain verification method to validate the firm, the certificate will be issued in a matter of minutes.

“Padlock” is a trust indicator that is displayed on your website when you use a User Trust Wildcard SSL Certificate. SSL encryption ensures that the website is safe, as indicated by the padlock on the bottom of the screen. Due to the fact that your website is protected by a high-grade SSL Certificate – “Wildcard SSL Certificate,” customers will place their trust in your company.

Conclusion

A Wildcard SSL Certificate is the most cost-effective SSL Certificate for a company that needs to secure a large number of sub-domains at a low cost. Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) prefer the Wildcard SSL Certificate to secure their numerous sub-domains.

The sole disadvantage of Wildcard Certificates is that, because they share a similar private key across all servers, if one server is compromised, it can make all other servers subject to the same attack. However, given the complexity of the encryption, this is extremely unlikely to occur in practise.

Finally, Wildcard SSL Certificates are the ideal option because they not only save money while protecting an unlimited number of sub-domains, but they also make things simpler to handle.

SSL Certificate with Wildcard Characters

Related questions and concerns about Wildcard SSL Certificates

Is it necessary to utilise a wildcard certificate?
YES, you can secure an unlimited number of subdomains under a single domain at a reasonable cost by using Wildcard Certificates.

What exactly is the difference between a SAN SSL Certificate and a Wildcard SSL Certificate?
In accordance with the OpenSRS blog, a wildcard certificate enables for the protection of an unlimited number of subdomains with a single certificate.

For example, a Wildcard certificate for opensrs.com will secure all of the sub-domains under that domain, including mail.opensrs.com, ftp.opensrs.com, and numerous others.

A SAN certificate allows you to protect numerous domain names with a single certificate by using a single certificate authority.

You may, for example, obtain a certificate for the website opensrs.com. You can enter other SAN values at the same time to have the same certificate protect many domains, such as opensrs.org, opensrs.net, and even tucows.com.