In 2023, an estimated 218.8 million Americans will shop online, spending an average of over $5300. The US is a highly mature e-commerce market with more than 80% market penetration and annual sales of over $1.17 trillion.

The competition is fierce, and even a minor data breach can kill your business, especially if you are a startup or small business. With cyberattacks increasing 38% yearly, data protection is the last thing an e-commerce store can ignore in 2023.

Security Certificate management presents significant challenges to all organizations in cybersecurity. Even major corporations like Amazon, Microsoft, and, most memorably, Equifax have all fallen victim to costly data breaches due to lapses in handling security certificates.

Why Are SSL/TLS Security Certificates Important in E-commerce?

Since the mid-1990s, Secured Socket Layer (SSL) certificates have allowed websites to create a secure, encrypted connection with the end user. In 1999, the protocol was upgraded to Transport Layer Security (TLS) for improved data security.

If your e-commerce website does not have proper SSL/TLS implementation, it can affect your business in the following ways:

• A lack of data encryption will make it much easier for cybercriminals to steal your customer data and payment information.
• All modern browsers will mark your site as “not secure,” drastically reducing the number of visitors (and purchases).
• Search engines will downgrade your site rank on SERPs, severely affecting online visibility and organic traffic.
• The absence of HTTPS may affect key features like APIs and create a poor user experience on some browsers.

Above all else, SSL/TLS certificates are essential for compliance with PCI DSS standards. If you want to handle credit card transactions, you need encryption. Further, it is also necessary for compliance with significant data privacy regulations like GDPR.

Why is Automation Essential for SSL/TLS Certificate Management?

Nearly a quarter of all cyberattacks are targeted towards e-commerce websites. And threat actors frequently target your site’s SSL/TSL certificates since they suffer from a host of potential vulnerabilities. Using automated certificate management bestows the following benefits:

Renewing Expired Certificates

All security certificates have a finite validity period. Failure to renew an expired certificate can lead to downgrading your site’s HTTPS encryption, leaving it open to attacks. An automated solution like the Sectigo Certificate Manager can ensure on-time certificate renewal, effectively removing this risk.

Enforcing Security Best Practices

Many organizations fail to ensure digital certificate security best practices like using strong cipher suites and updating to the latest encryption/security protocols. Weak ciphers and outdated protocols make life easier for cybercriminals. An automated certificate manager platform can help enforce best practices.

Revoking Compromised Certificates

Continuous monitoring of all SSL/TLS certificates allows your Certificate Manager to identify and revoke compromised security certificates. This will mitigate the damage caused by a security breach. Such monitoring is impossible without automation.  

Additional Benefits of a Trusted Certificate Manager Platform

SSL/TSL certificates represent just one of many aspects of online security in e-commerce. For adequate certificate lifecycle management, you need a solution capable of handling your SSL certificates, user account certificates, device certificates, code signing (for app development, and much more.

Depending on separate or siloed solutions will reduce efficiency and increase long-term operating costs. A holistic, centralized Certificate Manager platform is a much more sensible option for the continued security of your e-commerce website as well as your organization’s PKI system.