Centralized Certificate Manager for Cloud Pinning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The management of pinned certificates for multiple client applications on devices becomes unwieldy due to the need for individual certificate renewals and potential loss of connectivity, undermining scalability and security in client-cloud communications.
Innovation Solution
A proxy device centrally manages certificates for multiple cloud sites, authenticating client applications and facilitating direct communication using tokens, reducing the need for individual certificate management on each client device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each client application individually manages its own pinned certificates, then security authentication is maintained, but management complexity increases and scalability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the certificate management functions of multiple client applications into a single centralized certificate manager. This central manager maintains a unified set of pinned certificates that serve all applications, eliminating the need for each application to independently manage its own certificates. The merging approach maintains security authentication while dramatically reducing management complexity and improving scalability.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized certificate manager serves as a universal component that provides certificate pinning services to multiple different client applications. Instead of each application having dedicated certificate management functionality, the universal certificate manager handles authentication for all applications, allowing one component to perform multiple functions across different applications.
2Reliability
If individual certificate renewals are performed for each application, then certificate validity is maintained, but time consumption and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the certificate renewal operations of multiple applications into a single centralized process. The certificate manager monitors and renews certificates collectively rather than requiring separate renewal operations for each application, significantly reducing the time and operational overhead while ensuring all certificates remain valid.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized certificate manager performs preliminary actions by proactively monitoring certificate expiration dates and automatically renewing certificates before they expire. This preliminary renewal approach prevents service interruptions and eliminates the need for reactive renewal operations, saving time and ensuring continuous certificate validity across all applications.
3Reliability
If multiple pinned certificates are maintained across applications, then cloud site connectivity is ensured, but risk of connectivity loss increases during cloud upgrades
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized certificate manager performs preliminary actions by proactively monitoring cloud site certificate changes and preparing renewal operations before connectivity issues occur. When the cloud undergoes upgrades or key rotations, the manager is already positioned to update certificates seamlessly, preventing connectivity loss and mitigating the harmful effects of cloud maintenance activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the centralized certificate manager continuously monitors the status of pinned certificates and cloud site connectivity. When changes are detected or connectivity issues arise, the manager receives feedback and automatically adjusts by renewing or updating certificates, thereby maintaining reliable connectivity and reducing the risk of service interruption during cloud upgrades.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method is provided for storing a proxy site certificate and up-to-date cloud site certificates for cloud site(s), receiving a request from a client application executing on a client device to access one or more of the cloud site(s), the client device being a computing device, authenticating with the client application using the proxy site certificate and based on the proxy site certificate being pinned to the client application, requesting a secure connection with the cloud site(s) on behalf of the client application, receiving, in response to the request, a site certificate for each of the cloud site(s), authorizing with the cloud site(s) on behalf of the client application using the received site certificate for each of the cloud site(s) and the certificate data stored for each of the respective cloud site(s), and facilitating direct communication between the client application and the cloud site(s) that were successfully authorized.