Google Cloud Users Can Now Automate TLS Certificate Lifecycle
Google has made its Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) API available to all its Cloud users, which will enable them to automatically acquire and renew TLS certificates for free. The ACME protocol which allows automated renewal of TLS certificates has become the Internet standard protocol for certificate management. It has been used by a large number of ACME certificate authorities for issuing most of the WebPKI TLS certificates. Google Trust Services ACME API has already issued over 200 million certificates during the preview period. The automated certificate renewal capabilities ensure that users do not experience outages that are common when certificates need to be manually renewed.
ACME Protocol Features and Benefits
ACME protocol is the solution for automating TLS certificate lifecycle through APIs and its benefits include:
- It ensures that there is no interruption in the website operation due to manual certificate renewal.
- It provides a standard protocol for certificate management, thus reducing the chances of errors resulting from manual configuration.
- It enables the acquisition and renewal of TLS certificates for free as many times as you want.
ARI and MPDV Enhancements
To enhance the ecosystem, the internet giant also announced the ACME Renewal Information (ARI) standard for renewal management and the general availability of multi-perspective domain validation (MPDV), which will enhance the certificate issuance process. An extension to the ACME protocol, the ARI standard helps renew certificates if revocation occurs before expiration. Via an API, it informs service operators when certificates must be replaced, helping with the management of large certificate populations. On the other hand, MPDV enables domain control verification by validating from multiple locations, improving the reliability of validation by preventing localized attacks that trick verification checks.
Editorial
Google’s Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) API is a significant step forward to the automation of TLS certificate lifecycle. The automation of certificate management activities, such as new certificate acquisition, renewal, and revocation, presents many security benefits for website owners. The automation protocol reduces the chances of errors resulting from manual configuration and makes sure the website operation continues as expected, without any outages. The enhancements of the ACME Renewal Information (ARI) standard for renewal management and the general availability of multi-perspective domain validation (MPDV) further increase the reliability and security of the protocol.
Advice
For website owners and organizations on Google Cloud, it is crucial to automate the TLS certificate lifecycle to ensure uninterrupted website operation and enhance their cybersecurity posture. Automation will help them avoid common errors that result when manually managing certificates. Also, organizations should update their security policies and implement TLS certificates extensively for their website security.
<< photo by Mikhail Nilov >>
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