5 Questions to Ask When Evaluating PKI Solutions

PKI Solutions Are a Must-Have for Enterprises

A well-run PKI solution is one of the fundamentals of organizational security. Digital certificate management has a direct impact on the continuity of operations and the safeguarding of sensitive data. Establishing and maintaining an efficient and secure PKI is a complex task that’s almost impossible to accomplish manually in an enterprise setting. Yet, digital certificate management is often overlooked, resulting in certificate expiry, disruption of operations, or security breaches.

PKIaaS is a rapidly growing solution for PKI management that handles certificate issuance, renewal, and tracking for enterprises without requiring massive internal resources. Once a PKI management system is in place after the initial setup and integration, it will carry out all certificate operations following your organization’s parameters.

Because there are multiple offerings of PKI solutions on the market, it’s vital to choose one that meets your company’s security, scalability, and compliance requirements. The five questions below will help you evaluate potential PKI solutions and inform your decision to partner with a PKI provider that best fits your organization’s needs.

1. Is this PKI solution scalable?

A PKI solution’s primary function is to handle your organization’s expanding inventory of certificates as your business grows. Going from dozens to thousands of certificates isn’t uncommon in an enterprise setting where digital certificates are required for multiple types of assets and systems.

Your potential PKI solution must be able to accommodate a diverse array of use cases, such as secure email, applications for internal use, external-facing applications that communicate with partners and vendors, and SSL certificates for webpages. Complex IT hierarchies may also require the use of multiple certificate authorities (CAs), which is all but guaranteed in an enterprise environment. Accounting for all of the use cases above is a necessary feature of a good PKI—and its scalability is paramount.

PKI solutions that scale with the organization should also be capable of handling unforeseen or sudden spikes in demand. For example, if your organization works with or requires the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, their deployment will inevitably increase the load on the organization’s PKI management system. Can a PKI solution you’re considering handle an influx of thousands of devices? Are there performance benchmarks your PKI partner can share so that you can ensure it will be functioning optimally to fit your needs?

2. Can this PKI solution be automated?

One of the biggest barriers to scalable and secure PKI management is manual handling of digital certificates, often a vestige from the past left unaddressed even as the organization modernizes its processes. Unfortunately, manual PKI management is still all too common, despite errors, increased downtime, and security risks. 

While it’s neither possible nor recommended to eliminate human oversight from PKI management entirely, automation is an important part of robust PKI solutions. Automation helps streamline the full certificate management lifecycle, from issuance to renewal and revocation. The possibility of human error and the risk of outages decrease as a result of automation, as does the burden on human teams to complete repetitive tasks that may otherwise fall through the cracks.

At an enterprise level, look for a PKI provider that can integrate with the existing IT processes and DevOps workflows to offer automated certificate discovery and monitoring, decreasing the manual input required even further. Expert support provided by a PKI partner to establish the correct processes from the get-go is another “nice to have” to ensure the integration is truly seamless.

3. Is this PKI solution secure and compliant?

Enterprises must meet compliance requirements. However, such requirements are especially stringent in regulated industries, necessitating partnership with vendors who appreciate their scope. Knowing how well a PKIaaS solution adheres to these standards is an important step in your evaluation. A trustworthy PKI partner will not only be familiar with the regulations of your industry but also forthcoming with information about how their solution can meet them.

You should ask potential partners the following:

• What features are present in the PKI solution to help me stay compliant?
• Is there audit logging and reporting to meet regulatory requirements?
• Is the PKI solution you’re offering compliant with common standards, including WebTrust, Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), and Common Criteria?

Consider the overall security of the PKI solution. The certificate transmission and storage of private keys need to be secure. Are there features to encrypt the keys and implement granular access controls? Security standards evolve rapidly in the current climate of rampant cybercrime, so the PKI solution under evaluation must be fully up-to-date. It should also have policies and operational procedures in place in the event of a breach.

4. Does this PKI solution play well with others?

Interoperability of PKI is indispensable to enterprises. Rapidly growing and mature organizations alike often have a mix of legacy and modern systems, both hardware and software, so a PKI solution must be able to integrate seamlessly with diverse tech and support hybrid environments, including on-premises and cloud.

Robust PKI solutions can handle various data formats, communication protocols, and algorithms. It is important to know which ones are in place in your organization and which ones a potential PKI solution supports. A viable solution should be able to issue certificates for a range of systems, from IoT devices and mobile devices to web services. Will the solution work with legacy systems and devices with potentially outdated software? Not only does the PKI solution need to play nicely with what you have now, but it should accommodate the systems your organization may want to implement in the future.

5. Is this PKI solution future-proof against emerging threats?

In general, a good PKI solution looks to the future. Constantly evolving cyber threats present one of the biggest challenges for organizations, and staying on top of security threats means investments into the overall security posture, of which PKI is a big part. Your ideal PKI solution provider must stay in lockstep, flexible and secure, working to address vulnerabilities that emerge. Adaptability to rapidly changing circumstances is crucial.

Quantum computing is another important part of the discussion surrounding the future-proofing of certificate management. The imminent arrival of quantum-powered technology is very likely to render many current encryption algorithms obsolete. This is why the PKI solution provider you’re considering should already have a roadmap for PQC (post-quantum cryptography). How quickly can they adapt to new standards that NIST is still working on? Will they be ready to assist you with the PKI overhaul to begin your own PQC transformation? The answers to these questions will determine if they’re a worthy partner to join forces with long-term.

Carefully Evaluating PKI Solutions is Key

While choosing a PKI solution for your organization may seem like an impossible task due to the many complexities and contingencies it must be able to handle, the careful evaluation process is crucial for selecting a PKI that fits your needs. Asking the five questions above will help you learn more about the potential PKIaaS solutions you’re considering.

Armed with that knowledge, you will be able to choose a PKI solution that prioritizes scalability, automation, interoperability, and compliance, which will offer efficient and secure digital certificate management for your company for years to come.

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