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Client Certificates 101

Most servers and systems authenticate users and devices through traditional username-password logins. Despite being the most widely used form of authentication, passwords are, in fact, the least secure method of authentication. Passwords are often reused and vulnerable to theft, making it easy for malicious actors to take hold of them and gain access to company resources.

What’s worse is how often these threats go undetected. According to Gigamon’s 2023 Hybrid Cloud Security Survey, a shocking one-third of all security breaches go undetected by IT and security teams.

So, while many organizations think they’re safe, the data suggests otherwise.

Fortunately, there are ways to combat data breaches and improve an organization’s security posture. One of the easiest, most budget-friendly, and highly effective approaches to prevent data breaches is through the implementation of simple client certificates.

What is a Client Certificate?

After hearing how effective client certificates are in preventing data breaches, you might be asking yourself: What is a client certificate? A client certificate acts as a digital ID to prove a user’s or device’s identity to a remote server, guaranteeing that the server is communicating with an authenticated user. In this case, the “user” can include email users, organization-issued devices, applications, systems, and IoT devices.

Take a closer look at a client certificate:

Client certificates allow organizations to ensure that only authorized users can access important systems and data easily. Instead of validating users through passwords, client certificate-based authentication validates users on whether or not they have an authorized digital certificate on their device. And if a user doesn’t have an authorized digital certificate, they won’t be able to access the protected system.

Client certificates have various functions to better secure company assets, but at their core, here’s what they do:

• Authenticate the client/user to the server
• Establish mutual trust between the client and server
• Enable secure, passwordless authentication
• Grant authorized users access to data

Client certificates make your organization’s data even more secure when paired with traditional username-password login systems. When client certificates and passwords are combined, it’s called two-factor authentication (2FA). Two-factor authentication improves data security by adding another layer, making it even harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to systems. This way, if login credentials are leaked or stolen, your company’s data won’t be at risk.  

Why Use Client Certificates?

While we’ve discussed how client certificates keep your data more secure against cybercriminals and unauthorized access, we didn’t get into the details about why client certificates are more secure when compared to traditional passwords.

1. Strong Authentication

Client certificates rely on strong Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) – which is the backbone of online security. The PKI framework blends digital certificates and public-private key pairs, protocols, and policies that enable encrypted communications.

Additionally, client certificates enable two-way authentication, which requires both the client and the server to authenticate and validate each other. To achieve this, both sides must have their own set of credentials, including a public-private key pair, adding some extra steps to the authentication process.

2. Simplified Authentication

Client certificates handle authentication automatically, without the user needing to type in a username, password, PIN, etc. By eliminating passwords, employees are able to gain access to what they need faster. And the need for tedious password resets, one-time codes, and authentication apps are completely removed.

3. Protection Against Phishing

By eliminating the need for passwords, client certificates effectively cut out the possibility of phishing. Employees won’t be tempted to paste their Post-it notes with passwords on their desk or reuse easy-to-guess passwords (cough, cough, like their dog’s name that they post on social media). Client certificates make the era of phishing emails and spoofed login pages, fooling unsuspecting employees into giving away login credentials, a thing of the past.

4. Cost-Effective

Improving your organization’s security posture is a lot cheaper than cleaning up the mess of a data breach. IBM reported that the average global cost of a data breach is $4.45 million dollars. What’s more, report findings show that data breaches can have disastrous financial consequences. In fact, publicly traded companies saw their stock values drop by 7.5% following a data breach.

While the initial investment in issuing client certificates may require some upfront resources (like cash and time), the long-term advantages significantly outweigh the initial demands. In the end, protecting the company’s assets and reducing security breaches make the investment in client certificates worthwhile.

Understanding Digital Certificates: The ID Cards of the Internet

Digital certificates are like the digital version of your government-issued ID – they assert your identity. Just like your driver’s license or passport has your identity details, such as your full name and street address, digital certificates also store information about users/devices. They also have unique digital signatures, similar to how your ID has a unique letter-number combination to set you apart from others.

Client certificates fall under the category of digital certificates. Typically, this type of digital certificate is used by private organizations to authenticate user requests to remote servers.

Other than client certificates, another common type of digital certificate is SSL/TLS certificates, which secure communications between web browsers and servers.

Have you ever visited a website and seen a “Not Secure” warning in the address bar? You’ll usually see this warning when a website lacks an SSL/TLS certificate, which leaves the communication vulnerable to interception and potential session hijacking. While we won’t get into the nitty gritty of SSL/TLS in this article, it’s important to note that there are other digital certificates besides client certificates.

Client Certificates vs. Device Certificates: What is a Device Certificate?

Often, you’ll see the terms “client certificate” and “device certificate” used interchangeably. This is because both client and device certificates use two-way authentication and can eliminate passwords. However, there are some differences between their goals.

• Client certificates: Sometimes called user certificates, authenticate individuals, not devices. These digital certificates provide user identity information, such as their name and email address.
• Device certificates: These digital certificates are used to authenticate devices or machines. They typically provide device identity information such as a device ID. Just to keep things confusing, sometimes device certificates are informally referred to as client certificates also.

While there is a technical distinction between device certificates and client certificates, for all intents and purposes, both types of digital certificates accomplish similar goals and use two-way authentication. What’s even trickier is that device and client certificates go by multiple names. Here’s a quick cheat sheet of some of the names they go by, just in case you run into their other names:

• User identity certificates
• S/MIME certificates
• Authentication certificates
• Email signing certificates
• Email authentication certificates
• Mutual authentication certificates
• Two-way authentication certificates

In today’s fast-paced digital world, where online threats are constantly evolving, client certificates have never been more essential. Data breaches can be a nightmare for any organization, causing both short-term and long-term financial impacts and killing customer trust. The good news is, improving your security doesn’t have to be a time-consuming or bank-shattering ordeal. Client certificates are affordable and easy to implement.

And there’s a way to streamline client certificate issuance and management. DigiCert ONE simplifies your digital infrastructure management, providing a unified platform for discovering, issuing, and controlling client certificates. This all-in-one solution gives you centralized visibility and control over your PKI, making client certificate implementation and management easier than ever before. Chat with one of our PKI specialists today to simplify and secure your PKI.