CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT SURVEY GLOBAL RESULTS 2013
CONTENTS 3 4 5 7 8 9 METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION SSL CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT IS COMPLEX STAKES HIGH WITH CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES IN DENIAL ABOUT EXPIRED CERTIFICATES SYMANTEC RECOMMENDATIONS 2
METHODOLOGY Symantec commissioned ReRez Research to carry out the 2013 Certificate Management Survey in December of 2012. They spoke with 100 enterprises in a total of seven countries, each with 500 or more employees, as well as 100 consumers who shop online at least once per month. The survey has a 95 percent liability, with +/- 9.8 percent margin of error. North America United States Canada EMEA United Kingdom Germany APJ Australia Japan Singapore 100 enterprises 100 consumers 3
Most (82%) see rogue certificates INTRODUCTION The world today runs on information being transmitted from one place to another, and securing that information is vital for businesses. With ecommerce steadily increasing every year totaling more than $200 billion over the last year in the United States alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau maintaining consumer confidence for online transactions is more important than ever. If an organization can t show potential customers that their money is safe, they may decide to go with a competitor, or shy away from online purchases completely. One critical component of a secure online business is SSL certificates. Up-to-date trusted certificates can make a difference in consumer perception of online purchases. In order to discover how organizations are coping with the complexities of SSL certificate management, and evaluate their customers attitude, Symantec fielded the 2013 Certificate Management Survey. Average company manages almost 2,000 SSL certificates SSL CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT IS COMPLEX Most use multiple methods to track SSL Yet, one third say their catalog is less than somewhat accurate 4
SSL CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT IS COMPLEX As ecommerce matures, the number of certificates to manage is growing now numbering nearly 2,000. With so many to manage, it s little wonder that the majority of enterprises (82 percent) deal with at least some certificates that are generated beyond IT controls. These rogue certificates can lead to loss of data, dissatisfied customers, and strained IT resources. How common are so-called rogue certificates in your organization? 25% 15% 15% 25% 24% 20% 13% 3% 5% We don t have any rogue certificates This is extremely rare We have a few here and there We have a moderate number of rogue certificates We have a lot of rogue certificates We don t know 5
Keeping track of certificates is important, but most organizations are struggling to effectively deal with them. In fact, tracking them through a Word or Excel file is more popular than using software for management, which may require them to manually handle changes in certificate status. The result of this complexity is that one-third of businesses feel their catalogue is less than somewhat accurate. What are the ramifications of poor certificate management? How do you keep track of these certificates so you know, for example, when they will expire, who owns the certificate, and so on? 80% 50% 2% 38% 43% 58% 61% 20% We don t use anything to manage SSL certificates We wrote our own application for this We use a public domain software solution We use a commercial software solution We have all our certificates logged in Word or Excel 6
STAKES HIGH WITH CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT There are a variety of consequences following SSL certificate mishaps, including the need for IT management spending time remediating the situation, more calls to IT or customer support, downtime due to data breaches and intellectual property theft. And in fact the average organization has lost $222,000 over the last year as a result of certificate issues. Aside from these direct costs, what effect can an expired certificate have on customer behavior? What kinds of costs have you experienced as a result of certificate mishaps in the past year? (means shown) Loss of stack value due to negative press arising from certificate mishap Loss of brand or reputation Compliance-related costs,including fines Loss of revenue due to an expired or compromised certificate which scared customers away 6% 10% 21% 27% Theft of intellectual property 33% Downtime due to a certificate-related security breach 45% Stakes high with SSL certificate management Last year, due to certificate mishaps the typical $222,000 Higher call volume to customer or IT support IT management time spent remediating certificate mishaps 47% 51% 10% 30% 50% 7
COMPANIES IN DENIAL ABOUT EXPIRED CERTIFICATES Unfortunately, there s a gap between what businesses think customers would do and what they actually would do when they see an expired certificate on a website as they make a purchase. More than half of the organizations we surveyed (57 percent) believe that in this case the customer will continue their transaction, or at least contact them for help. The sad truth, however, is that only 27 percent of customers said they would proceed; the remaining 73 percent said they would forget the transaction. This highlights the need for enterprises to more effectively manage their certificates, to avoid lost revenue. What can they do to reduce their certificate mishaps? If a customer encounters an expired certificate while shopping, they will 57% 27% 50% Enterprises customer will continue transaction or contact for help Consumers continue or contact for help 30% 10% 8
RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Centralize SSL certificate inventory information2 2. Leverage automation to simplify management 3. Deploy one easy-to-use, easy-to-maintain system for the entire organization
Copyright 2013 Symantec Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Symantec, the Symantec Logo, the Checkmark Logo, and Norton are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. NO WARRANTY. Symantec makes this document available AS-IS, and makes no warranty as to its accuracy or use. The information contained in this document may include inaccuracies or typographical errors, and may not reflect the most current developments, and Symantec does not represent, warrant or guarantee that it is complete, accurate, or up-to-date, nor does Symantec offer any certification or guarantee with respect to any opinions expressed herein or any references provided. Changing circumstances may change the accuracy of the content herein. Opinions presented in this document reflect judgment at the time of publication and are subject to change. Any use of the information contained in this document is at the risk of the user. Symantec assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages resulting from the use of or reliance on the information herein. Symantec reserves the right to make changes at any time without prior notice. No part of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of Symantec Corporation, 350 Ellis Street., Mountain View, CA 94043. 10