SSL Certificate Registration Period Shortened to One-Year
This past June, Google announced that starting September 1st, 2020 their world-leading web browser Google Chrome will be reducing SSL certificate validity from two years down to one. Apple made a similar announcement back in February regarding its Safari browser to increase web security for its users. Web-browser Mozilla FireFox has also followed suit.
Two-year SSL certificate purchased before August 15 will remain trusted and won’t require any updates.
Two-year SSL certificates purchased on or before August 31st 2020 will still be trusted on these browsers. After this date, any newly purchased two-year registrations will not be valid. Sites without a valid SSL certificate take an SEO hit and are distrusted by users and search engines alike.
To prevent incompatibilities with specific browsers, Hexonet will only offer one-year SSL certification registrations starting on August 15th, 2020, 2 weeks before the September 1st cut off period.
Which SSL Certificates are Affected?
At Hexonet, any SSL certificate issued on or after August 15th, 2020 will be affected. This includes both new SSL certificates and reissues for:
- GeoTrust
- Sectigo
- Digicert (formerly "Symantec")
- Trustwave
- Thawte
You can register SSL certificates with Hexonet via the Control Panel and API. After August 15th, an error will appear if you attempt to register an SSL certificate for more than one year.
If your certificate was issued on or before August 15th, 2020, it will not be affected by this update. If you already have a two-year SSL registration, you won’t have to change anything. However, when the certificate expires, it must be replaced with an SSL certificate with a lifespan of not more than one year.
SSL Certificate Reductions are Nothing New
TLS lifespans started at eight years and as the internet grew, security became a higher priority. The SSL certificates went from eight years to five, to three and then to two.
The shorter lifespan an SSL certificate has, the higher the security. Requiring SSL certificates to be renewed after a shorter period means if any updates to SSL certificates are made, they are quickly accepted. Other benefits of shorter SSL certificate validity include:
- New certification keys are generated more frequently
- Keeps certificates updated with your most recent information
- Reduces the exposure window if a certificate is compromised
What Happens After August 15th, 2020?
The change will require a little more work from website admins as they’ll have to update their SSL certificates yearly instead of every two years. However, in addition to increased site security, this gives admins an extra opportunity and touchpoint to reach out to website owners. This can be an opportunity to remind them of your value, potentially upsell them or offer them something new.
If SSL certificates are not updated properly, users may experience HTTPS errors in their browsers. Currently, the two leading browsers, Chrome and Safari, along with Mozilla Firefox are on-board with these changes. It’s only a matter of time before the smaller browsers follow their lead.
Starting on August 15th, 2020, Hexonet will only offer one-year registration periods for all SSL certificates. Visit our Control Panel to purchase your SSL certificate today.