How do you audit and enforce your TLS policies and standards across your organization?

1 Assess your current TLS configuration

To assess your current TLS configuration and identify any gaps or risks, you can use tools such as SSL Labs, Qualys SSL Server Test, or Nmap. These tools will scan your servers and check the TLS version and cipher suites supported, the validity and strength of your certificates and keys, the presence and configuration of HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), OCSP stapling, and certificate transparency, as well as vulnerability to common TLS attacks, such as protocol downgrade, certificate misconfiguration, or weak encryption. After analyzing the results, you can prioritize the areas that need improvement and plan your remediation actions.

2 Define your TLS policies and standards

The next step is to define your TLS policies and standards based on best practices and industry benchmarks. You can use frameworks such as the Mozilla SSL Configuration Generator, the SSL/TLS Deployment Best Practices, or the NIST Guidelines for TLS to guide you. Your policies and standards should include the minimum TLS version and cipher suites required for servers and clients, certificate authority and key management processes, security features and extensions enabled or disabled for TLS connections, as well as monitoring and testing methods to verify and validate your TLS configuration and performance. It’s important to document your policies and standards clearly and communicate them to stakeholders and teams.

3 Implement your TLS policies and standards

The third step is to implement your TLS policies and standards across your organization. You can use tools like Ansible, Puppet, Chef, or Terraform to automate and enforce your TLS configuration and deployment. You can also use tools like Certbot, Let's Encrypt, or AWS Certificate Manager to automate and manage your certificate issuance and renewal. You should also update your web servers, applications, and libraries to support the latest TLS version and features. You should test your TLS implementation regularly and resolve any issues or errors.

4 Monitor and audit your TLS performance and compliance

The final step is to monitor and audit your TLS performance and compliance continuously. You can use tools like SSL Labs, Qualys SSL Server Test, or Nmap to scan your servers periodically and check for any changes or deviations from your policies and standards. You can also use tools like Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK Stack to collect and visualize your TLS metrics and logs. You should also use tools like Wireshark, OpenSSL, or curl to troubleshoot and debug your TLS connections and certificates. You should review your TLS policies and standards regularly and update them as needed.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?