The Decision of Google to Prevent the Usage of Entrust Certificates in Chrome from November 2024 Onwards
Google has made public that it’s set to hinder websites that utilize certificates from Entrust commencing approximately on November 1, 2024, within its Chrome browser, citing failure to comply and the inability of the certificate authority to promptly address security concerns.
“In recent years, publicly disclosed incident reports have shed light on a repeated set of concerning actions by Entrust that do not meet the aforementioned standards, leading to doubts about their capability, dependability, and trustworthiness as a publicly-trusted [certificate authority] operator,” stated Chrome’s security team at Google as mentioned.
Consequently, the technology giant declared that it plans to no longer support TLS server authentication certificates from Entrust beginning with Chrome browser versions 127 and above by default. Nevertheless, it highlighted that these preferences can be modified by users of Chrome and corporate clients if they choose to do so.
Additionally, Google emphasized that certificate authorities have a crucial and trusted role in ensuring secure connections between browsers and websites, and that the lack of progress by Entrust in response to publicly reported incidents and unmet commitments for improvement poses threats to the internet ecosystem.
The blocking measures are predicted to impact Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Android, and Linux versions of the browser. Chrome for iOS and iPadOS stands out as an exception due to restrictions imposed by Apple that prevent the utilization of the Chrome Root Store.
As a consequence, individuals accessing a website that provides a certificate issued by Entrust or AffirmTrust will be shown an intermediate notification warning them that their connection is unsecured and not private.
Concerned website administrators are advised to switch to a publicly-trusted certificate authority operator to mitigate disruptions before October 31, 2024. Notably, according to Entrust’s website, its services are utilized by Microsoft, Mastercard, VISA, and VMware, among others.
“Although website administrators could postpone the consequences of the blocking measures by opting to obtain and install a new TLS certificate issued by Entrust prior to Chrome’s restrictions taking effect on November 1, 2024, they will ultimately need to acquire and install a new TLS certificate from one of the numerous other certificate authorities listed in the Chrome Root Store,” as stated by Google.
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