As of October 31st 2017 DigiCert completed the acquisition of Symantec’s Certificate Authority business. This also includes GeoTrust, Thawte and RapidSSL.
This acquisition came about after google announced they will be distrusting Symantec Certificates ( only certificates issued prior to December 1st 2017 ) due to questionable website authentication certificates issued by Symantec Corporation’s PKI. You can read more about it here.
Chrome’s gradual distrust of existing Symantec certificates in question will occur in two stages.
The First Stage with coincide with the release of the Chrome 66 (15th March 2018). All Certificates issued under Symantec, GeoTrust, Thawte or RapidSSL on or before June 1st, 2016 will no longer be trusted and a reissue will be required. Users of Chrome 66 and above will no longer be able to make secure HTTPS connections to websites using these certificates, and they will receive a warning.
The Second Stage will be with the release of Chrome 70 ( 13th September 2018 ). All Symantec, GeoTrust, Thawte and RapidSSL Certificates issued before 1st December 2017 will be distrusted from their current roots and a reissue will be required.
To make sure any certificates you have in use that are under the Certificate Authority Symantec, GeoTrust, Thawte or RapidSSL and matche the dates mentioned above continue to be trusted, you will be required to reissue the certificate. Every reissue will be free and can be done from your SSLTrust account panel.
All newly reissued certificates will be trusted under the new DigiCert trusted root certificates.
If you had any SSL issued after the 1st December 2017, you are not effected and no reissue will be required. Your SSL Certificate will continue to stay trusted.
If you are unsure if you are effected please contact the SSLTrust support team via the online chat on our website or via a support ticket.
Actions required:
- If your website uses an SSL certificate from Symantec, RapidSSL, GeoTrust or Thawte, and it was issued before June 1st, 2016, you need to re-issue your certificate before March 15th, 2018.
- If your website uses an SSL certificate from Symantec, RapidSSL, GeoTrust or Thawte, and it was issued after June 1st, 2016, but before December 1st, 2017, you need to re-issue your certificate before September 13, 2018.
Going forward...
This may give a bit of uncertainty in purchasing new SSL Certificates from Symantec, GeoTrust, Thawte or RapidSSL but this will make a safer and more secure internet and a stronger security solution for all.
With Symantec moving under the DigiCert umbrella we will have the best of all that is on offer. Symantec is already world-renowned for its cyber security products and solutions, and when you combine that with DigiCerts best-in-the-industry validation practices and constant strive to better the industry, we get a superior product.
All team members at SSLTrust and members of the web security industry still see Symantec, Thawte and GeoTrust as the most trusted and beneficial solutions for securing websites, mail servers, production servers and more. If you are looking to purchase a new SSL Certificate today please talk to one of our team members to find the right solutions for your needs.