Worried about the SSL transition from SHA-1 to SHA-2? We’ve got you covered!
Every internet user is familiar with the lock icon which comes with almost every website these days – this means that the website is secured by an SSL certificate which will guarantee that sensitive information sent across the Internet is encrypted.
We all know how vital security is in the online world, but how does the SSL manage to encrypt all of this information so that it won’t get in the wrong hands?
Well, the answer is the hashing algorithm – an important feature of the public-key encryption which is used to encrypt the communication between a server and a browser. It’s really important to keep up with it and use the latest version to make sure your website is protected. Here at Layershift, this is our main purpose: to ensure that your website and business are protected and up to date – so we followed the evolution of the hashing algorithm and pro-actively updated the certificates issued via ourselves to use the latest version.
Concentrate on your business and leave the rest to us!
SHA-2 is latest cryptographic hashing algorithm that everybody hurried up and embraced recently.
Previously, everybody used SHA-1 to issue SSL certificates. As time went by, attackers became more and more skilled so SHA-1 was forced to pass on the torch to a more secure and reliable algorithm – SHA-2. This process was speed up by Google’s announcement about SHA-1 deprecation plans that will affect websites with SHA-1 SSL Certificates.
This announcement stipulated that most internet browsers will soon be highlighting SSL certificates that are using SHA-1 cryptographic hashes as less secure. Chrome 39 and later will show a warning for sites that use a SHA-1 certificate that expires in 2016. Additionally, websites with a SHA-1 certificate expiring in 2017 or later will require a click through warning.
Transitioning to SSL certificates signed with SHA-2 @Layershift
Long story short, if your website uses a SHA-1 SSL you will need to go through all the pain and trouble of re-issuing the certificate with the new SHA-2 algorithm. Almost every respected hosting and SSL provider gave step by step instructions to their customers on how to do that. We said almost because we’re not included in this category – we take the fully managed aspect of our services to the next level so if you’re one of our customers and you have an SSL certificate issued via ourselves for use on our hosting services, then you should know that we have proactively reissued all of the certificates using the newer, more secure encryption model – SHA-2 – free of charge.
We covered all the steps for you: we created a new CSR, we reordered the certificate and installed the certificate on your behalf, so rest assured that your server and websites are safe and sound as long as they’re hosted with us.
Does this sound too good to be true? Then test our services and see for yourself what fully managed hosting services really mean! Drop us a line or two via email or, if you prefer, tweet us or leave a comment on our Google + profile and you’ll shortly hear from our friendly Sales team.