Looking at LetsEncrypt and its alternatives in 2023
Looking at LetsEncrypt and its alternatives in 2023
What is CA (Certificate authority)
A certificate authority (CA) is trusted entity or organisation which issues digital SSL certificates for websites and other entities.
These digital certificates are a trusted file or electronic password which proves the authenticity of a website, domain, server, or user through the use of cryptography and PKI (public key infrastructure).
A digital certificate provides the following details:
Authentication, by serving as a credential to validate the identity of the entity that it is issued to.
Encryption, for secure communication over insecure networks such as the Internet.
Integrity of documents signed with the certificate so that they cannot be altered by a third party in transit.
What is LetsEncrypt ?
Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority (CA), run for the public’s benefit. It is a service provided by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG). It provides X.509 certificates for Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption. These are free certificates which means anyone who has a domain name can use Let’sEncrypt to obtain a trusted certificate at zero cost.
LetsEncrypt provides two types of certificates:
- The standard single domain SSL
- The Wildcard SSL, which covers not only a single domain, but all of its subdomains too.
Let’sEncrypt certificates come with a validity of 90 days.Let’s Encrypt automatically renews certificates to reduce page errors.
Let’sEncrypt uses the ACME (Automatic Certificate Management Environment ) protocol to provide free TLS/SSL certificates to any compatible client. The ACME (Automated Certificate Management Environment) protocol was originally developed by the Internet Security Research Group for its public CA, LetsEncrypt.
In 2019, the IETF standardized the ACME protocol in RFC8555, and many clients have since developed support for the protocol. ACME v2 is not backwards compatible with v1, which will be deprecated entirely in June 2021.
Possible alternatives to LetsEncrypt in 2023
- ZeroSSL: ZeroSSL is a one-stop solution for SSL certificate creation and management, allowing users to create website security certificates issued by ZeroSSL either using a fast and straightforward user interface, using ACME integrations, or using a full-fledged SSL REST API.
- OpenSSL: The OpenSSL Project develops and maintains the OpenSSL software — a robust, commercial-grade, full-featured toolkit for general-purpose cryptography and secure communication
- AWS certificate manager: AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) handles the complexity of creating, storing, and renewing public and private SSL/TLS X.509 certificates and keys that protect your AWS websites and applications. You can provide certificates for your integrated AWS services either by issuing them directly with ACM or by importing third-party certificates into the ACM management system.
- GeoTrust SSL: GeoTrust is a globally-recognized provider of TLS/SSL certificates — now powered by DigiCert, the industry-leader in high-assurance website security.
- CAcert : CAcert.org is a community-driven Certificate Authority that issues certificates to the public at large for free. CAcert’s goal is to promote awareness and education on computer security through the use of encryption, specifically by providing cryptographic certificates. These certificates can be used to digitally sign and encrypt email, authenticate and authorize users connecting to websites and secure data transmission over the internet.
- SSLTutor: SSLTutor is a platform that guides user for SSL Installation Process, SSL Errors Fixing Resources, SSL Tools, SSL Types, SSL Providers, SSL Comparison and more.