MSU participates in the InCommon SSL Certificate Program, powered by Comodo, which entitles MSU to provide 2048-bit SSL certificates for MSU servers.
Secure websites use encryption and authentication standards to protect the confidentiality of the connection and data, and SSL is commonly used.
MSU funds an unlimited numbers of SSL certificates to departments.
Increased security
The Certification Authority/Browser Forum and the National Institute of Standards and Technology determined that any key length below 2048-bit is not strong enough to preserve Internet security.
As a result, these bodies have mandated a stop to 1024-bit certificate issuing and will revoke any certificates with key lengths below 2048-bit after December 31, 2013. Any SSL certificates with less that 2048-bit keys must be upgraded. All offerings through MSU’s InCommon licensing are for 2048-bit certificates.
SSL certificate process
Network administrators can request an individual SSL certificate or unlimited sub-domain SSL certificates through online MSU request forms.
InCommon operates the Registration Authority to verify organizations and identity proofing officials authorized to act on behalf of an institution for certificate issuance.
Requests are typically processed within one business day, though generally requests are processed as they are received. Certificates are approved at MSU and then are issued by InCommon/Comodo, usually within 24 hours.
