Sectigo Sponsors Let’s Encrypt to Enable Certificate Transparency Log Operation

Largest Commercial Certificate Authority Helps Ensure Fabric of CT Logs Is Adequate for World’s Certificate Needs

ROSELAND, N.J. – May 15, 2019 – Sectigo, the world’s largest commercial Certificate Authority (CA) and a leader in web security solutions, announced today its sponsorship of Internet Security Research Group’s (ISRG) Let’s Encrypt, a free, automated, and open CA run for the public’s benefit. The sponsorship, which covers a large portion of the funding needed for the non-profit organization to operate a new certificate transparency (CT) log for one year, aids the broader worldwide security landscape by expanding the number of CT logs available to CAs.

When a CA issues an SSL certificate, it must enter a record for that certificate into two CT logs, providing visibility into what certificates are being issued for specific domain names and adding value for the entire security ecosystem. The added visibility that comes from certificate transparency helps businesses examine activity on their own brand names, allows for phishing monitoring using SSL certificates, and provides researchers with more information to potentially understand trends and usage patterns across the internet. CAs must log their certificates to be trusted by Google Chrome and Apple. The availability of additional CT logs helps ensure that CAs can continue to log new certificates even if one log were to go offline.

“We are pleased to partner with Sectigo to build and maintain a new CT log as a result of this sponsorship,” said Josh Aas, Executive Director, Let’s Encrypt. “With Sectigo’s backing, we are able to offer an open, high-volume, production CT log, making the internet safer and more transparent.”

More information about the log, “Oak,” which is now publicly available, can be found at: https://letsencrypt.org/docs/ct-logs/

CT logs can alert users to malicious activity, as cybercriminals often register a domain name similar to a known and trusted company name as a means to leverage a recognizable brand to scam users into entering confidential personal data. Adding certificates to these fake sites furthers their similarity to the genuine sites they seek to mimic.

“As a member of the CA/Browser Forum, Sectigo is committed to advancing internet security through collaboration with other Certificate Authorities,” said Nick France, CTO of SSL, Sectigo. “Sectigo’s sponsorship of Let’s Encrypt’s efforts to bolster the CT ecosystem is another step in addressing the growing need for certificate transparency tools. It’s an important example of how CAs can work together to ensure the overall internet ecosystem is secure for users and businesses worldwide.”

About Let’s Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated and open Certificate Authority issuing digital certificates for website encryption. Let’s Encrypt is a service provided by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG), a public benefit organization with a mission to reduce financial, technological, and education barriers to secure communication over the Internet. Let’s Encrypt helps secure over 150 million websites. For more information or to offer your financial support, visit www.letsencrypt.org.

About Sectigo

Sectigo provides purpose-built, automated PKI solutions that secure websites, connected devices, applications, and digital identities. As the largest commercial Certificate Authority trusted by enterprises globally for more than 20 years, and more than 100 million SSL certificates issued in over 200 countries, Sectigo has the proven performance and experience to meet the growing needs of securing today’s digital landscape. For more information, visit www.sectigo.com.