The Benefits Of Using Microsoft PKI For Enterprise Security

 In order to streamline operations, automate routine tasks, and expand their digital presence to suit emerging demands, more and more companies are turning to cloud computing. Data centers, similar to mainframes in the past, are slowly becoming outdated as cloud-based solutions become more dependable and scalable. The majority of respondents (76%) in the Cloud Strategy Survey stated that their organization uses a multi-cloud architecture.   

That figure is expected to rise to 90% in two years. Besides, many companies now rely on Microsoft Azure, a top cloud services provider, as part of their hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure. For many businesses, hybrid and multi-cloud solutions aren't simply the future; they're here and now.   Establishing digital trust and securely connecting workloads and apps at scale requires public key infrastructure (PKI), which is crucial whether your firm is already cloud-first or is transferring legacy applications to Azure. For the purpose of securing electronic data transfer, public-key encryption (PKI) is a software and hardware component that manages the PK process. 

Digital certificates and public key infrastructure (PKI) are relied upon by application and operations teams, security architects, network engineers, and anybody else concerned with securing machine-to-machine communications in hybrid cloud settings. However, the transition to infrastructure as code and dynamic workloads present significant difficulties for PKI deployments.

Concerns about data privacy and security when migrating to the cloud  

Many obstacles arise for identity and security teams throughout the complicated migration from on-premises data centers to cloud architecture.   

• The ever-changing cloud architecture, ideal for dynamic applications, allows for rapid certificate issue, deployment, and revocation. 
• Machine identities are multiplying as the number of machines and workloads rises exponentially. 
• Information technology's complexity and expense are exacerbated when various teams employ different public key infrastructure (PKI) and certificate authority (CA) solutions to serve specific use cases. 

 As more apps move to the cloud, the security measures put in place to protect on-premises systems are becoming increasingly ineffective. These outdated tools can hinder the smooth transition to the cloud. Managing PKI and certificates is also an example of this. Whether your company has a well-established multi-cloud strategy or is just starting to migrate to Azure, the demands on PKI as a service are growing. Legacy PKI setups provide insufficient support.  

Teams may develop value for their company and increase productivity by migrating apps to Azure or creating new apps on the platform. Workloads like microservices, virtual machines, and containers proliferate exponentially. For security to be guaranteed, every connection must be authenticated, encrypted, and permitted using distinct and trusted identities in this new environment. 

X.509 certificates and other machine IDs are pervasive in the cloud. Every day, Azure developers and engineers depend on certificates to build and execute apps securely. To guarantee your teams can access Azure's full benefits while maintaining security, a comprehensive cloud migration strategy that includes PKI and certificate services is essential.  

Its transparent public key infrastructure (PKI) and machine identities support digital trust in the cloud, protecting vital services and allowing for large-scale networking. Simplifying and modernizing PKI infrastructure is essential for enterprises to reap the benefits of digital transformation and cloud migration. 

Advantages Of Microsoft PKI For Businesses  

For large-scale certificate issuance and provisioning in the cloud, a robust and versatile CA and PKI management platform. It is straightforward to issue certificates for every use case, whether in the cloud or on-premises, because it integrates smoothly with Azure infrastructure.   

The open-source platform and standards Microsoft PKI is built on provide it with the maturity and transparency hallmarks of contemporary security architecture. It is built to be highly available and scalable on the cloud and follows industry standards like Common Criteria to guarantee reliability and security.  

A Microsoft partner and identification platform for machines and the Internet of Things (IoT), Key Factor serves contemporary businesses. With their solutions for automating certificate lifecycle management, simplifying public key infrastructure (PKI), and allowing crypto-agility at scale, the company assists security teams in managing cryptography as vital infrastructure.   Additional advantages of Keyfactor EJBCA for Azure include as follows: 

1. Integrating with Azure 

 Through SCEP, Intune support, and auto-enrollment, EJBCA can interface with Azure-native platforms and Microsoft. You can manage your EJBCA authentication and authorization using Azure OAuth or certificate authentication, and you can see and track your PKI with Azure Monitor Insights. 

2. Various applications  

With EJBCA, you only need one platform to support all certificate formats and use cases. It is easy to extend EJBCA since it supports a wide variety of standard protocols and APIs, including web services, EST, SCEP, CMP, ACME, and REST.

3. Efficient scaling 

It is possible to implement EJBCA with several CA and PKI infrastructures. Thanks to the support for multi-domain and multi-forest deployment, you can combine all of your PKI use cases onto one platform. Plus, you only pay for the resources that you utilize. 

4-Integrated hardware support for hybrid systems

All cryptographic keys are kept secure and enterprise-grade security and compliance are achieved with the help of a hardware security module (HSM). In terms of HSM integration, the said system supports every major vendor's offering, including Azure Key Vault, Azure Key Vault Managed HSM, Thales DPoD, and the vast majority of HSMs that are FIPS or CC certified. 

5. Deploying with flexibility  

You can install EJBCA in a way that best suits your organization's needs, so it can tackle the unique business difficulties it faces. As a hosted and managed service, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), or as a software or hardware device to meet particular compliance or other needs, it is all available on the Azure cloud. 

6. Automation of the certificate lifecycle  

Integrating Key Factor Command allows you to merge fully automated certificate lifecycle processes with extremely scalable PKI. All certificates in your environment, whether issued by EJBCA or any other public, private, or cloud-based CA service, may be seen and managed with Key Factor Command. 

In the end!  

In most cases, the advantages of PKI considerably surpass the disadvantages, regardless of the firm's size. By conducting comprehensive research while assessing PKI vendors and solutions, organizations can altogether avoid these difficulties.