Wildcard certificates are those certificated that help you secure several sub-domains under a single domain. Many organizations use wildcard SSL certificates since they may secure both primary and subdomains with a single certificate. The significant Wildcard SSL advantages are cost and scalability. However, the advantages that promise you convenience and simplicity may violate essential security principles such as integrity, confidentiality, and non-reputation.
A digital certificate that covers a domain and all of its subdomains is known as a wildcard certificate. Wildcards are represented by an asterisk and a period before the domain name. To extend SSL encryption to subdomains, wildcards are often used in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates.
Benefits of Wildcard Certificates
Following are the essential points and benefits of the wildcard certificates:
1. Maximum Security of the Sub-Domain
Wildcard SSL, as previously said, protects an infinite number of subdomains—as many as your company has. You don’t need to renew the Wildcard if you add more subdomains during its lifetime; new subdomains are automatically covered.
2. Wildcard Certificates Save Money
A website with a specific number of sub-domains must have an equal number of certificates. This causes a lot of money and can be heavy on the wallet. The cost of SSL certificate is generally high, but that of a wildcard is lesser. Businesses can use this certificate for several sub-domains for the same price as a single Wildcard SSL certificate.
Given their limited resources, this is especially useful for small and medium-sized companies. They may provide excellent data protection and privacy within their financial limits by employing Wildcard SSL certificates for their website with many sub-domains.
3. Management of Certificates is Easy
Instead of going through the trouble of handling several SSL certificates, you can install this for multiple sub-domains with a single click. Multiple certificates need not be followed up on separately when they expire, renew, or reissue. As a result, certificate administration is significantly easier since businesses do not have to rush after keeping many certificates.
Risks Associated with Wildcard Certificates
Although the negatives of Wildcard certificates are almost nothing compared to the benefits however there are a few cons that you should be aware of:
● A prevalent risk associated with Wildcard certificates is their vulnerability to getting attacked by fraud and fake emails that can expose your stuff like bank details and passwords. Without proper implementation, the credentials can be easily exploited and hacked.
● The most severe issue is that if one site or sub-domain may be hacked at a single time as all subdomains share the same single security system. We can also say that the wildcard’s seeming simplicity can lead to massive issues if something goes wrong. So it is crucial to do every step with great care.
Conclusion
Wildcard SSL certificates are a good choice since they save money and make things easier to manage. You should, however, approach them deliberately and thoughtfully. To minimize the impact of a security assault, you should utilize a unique certificate that is valid just for the domains in question.
