EV Wildcard SSL Certificate: Possibility or Myth?

EV Wildcard SSL Certificate: The El Dorado of Security Encryption

Do you know that throughout history, explorers have been looking for lands and creatures largely described in the epics and mythologies? Be it Sir Walter Raleigh’s search for El Dorado or Ponce de Leon’s quest for the Fountain of Youth; the quest did not end. The quest for fountain website owners looking for Extended Validation (EV) Wildcard SSL Certificate is very much the same.

EV certificates are an ideal way of securing websites from theft of user data. Many website owners use the EV SSL to gain a higher level of trust from their end users after all these certificates help them achieve a highest level of trust indicator in the browser, which clearly indicates the highest level of security. Today, many website owners want to buy an EV Wildcard Certificate that helps them protect main domain and an unlimited number of subdomains with the company name within secure padlock as trust booster.

This is why oftentimes, customers come to the certificate providers on their misguided quest to find the elusive SSL certificate. They look to activate the highest level of trust with convenience across multiple domains, which is an ability that would be suitable for any business. But why are these EV Wildcard Certificates so difficult to find? Let us put it simply for you! It is simply because they do not exist. Just like rental cars and unicorns that have not been smoked in, these certificates do not usually exist. However, there is a solution that will help you achieve the same goal, which we will cover shortly. But, first, let us understand what Wildcard SSL is.

What is a Wildcard SSL Certificate?

Wildcard SSL Certificate is a convenient technique for securing a main domain with multiple sub-domains with just one SSL certificate. These can be used when you have to communicate a secured level of trust to your users like login pages, shopping carts, and other sensitive front-facing pages. With the certificate, your users and or customers value their safety and trust. A wildcard certificate offers holistic protection to the entire enterprise.

Now let us understand why it can not be combined with EV.

Why is EV Wildcard Certificate not Possible?

Among all the SSL certificates, EV SSL certificates offer the highest level of trust. The SSL industry regulator has set rules for SSL certificate issuance (known as the CA/B Forum) to prevent the incorrect use of EV SSL certificates. It demands validation of each host associated with a certificate.

Over the years, the CA/B Forum has meticulously refined all the needs and requirements to issue an extended validation SSL certificate. In fact, the baseline of EV requirements is the entire reason the forum today exists. These guidelines strictly dictate the requirements for validating EV certificates because it has a powerful and unique cue that is particular to the domain.

If we go by the nature of Wildcard, it is responsible for undermining this level of authentication. Website owners deploy it with subdomains that they can re-issue to protect newly added subdomains during their lifespan. This level of accuracy does not resonate well with what’s required for an EV. In simple words, there is no EV Wildcard product for security reasons.

So are you wondering what’s the worst that can happen if EV Wildcard comes into existence?

Let’s see that.

What’s the Worst that could Happen?

If Certificate Authorities issue Wildcards at the EV level, it would mean that any qualifying subdomain will receive an event indicator in spite of not undergoing any suitable validation process. This will create attack vendors where a single subdomain can be compromised, and hackers can use this to phish users with an EV indicator.

This, in turn, can undermine the trust in the entire EV ecosystem. Though the probability of phishers scamming the users is low, the fact that it is possible is sufficient to keep the CAs away from offering EV Wildcards.

So how do you encrypt your domain and subdomains with EV? Is it possible? Let us explore!

How can you Encrypt your Domain and Subdomains with EV?

So if you want to encrypt your domain and subdomain with an Extended Validation SSL certificate, you are going to need to buy an EV Multi-domain Certificate and get the listing of each domain and subdomain individually as SANs done. It will facilitate you to protect each domain and you’ll be able to provide security indicators of EV SSL within sub-domains.

In practice, to secure all your subdomains using an EV certificate, you can do the following:

Buy Multiple EV SSL certificates

It is an ideal option if you only have a couple of subdomains you want to secure. In that case, you can get a single Extended Validated SSL Certificate for each. The disadvantage of this option is that you will most likely enter the important data separately for each certificate, and it is not always convenient for the users. However, the data entry depends on where you make the certificate order.

Buy EV Multi-domain Certificate

Since the multi-domain SSL certificate covers a sufficiently large number of domains, including subdomains, this option is more convenient. When you have numerous domains and subdomains to protect with a certificate, it is quite profitable to buy this certificate. The more domain names you add, the more efficient the Multi Domain certificate becomes compared to the standard EV SSL certificate. Additionally, the users can submit only one request for a certificate that contains all the domain names at once. This happens to be quite a good time saver.

You can also add additional domain names to the certificate even after it has been assured; therefore, it is extremely convenient if one of your domain names is still unknown. However, make sure you order the certificate from a well-known certificate provider.

To conclude

You can always go for a multi-domain certificate if you want an EV Wildcard SSL Certificate. The ease of administration it offers is one of the best advantages. You can easily manage single domain certificates rather than managing certificates individually. Apart from this, multi-domain certificates will help you save a lot of money. More websites translate to more savings. These are some of the reasons why website owners are increasingly looking to buy multi-domain certificates.

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