Symantec Debuts Cloud-Based Certificate Intelligence Center

Symantec is leveraging its VeriSign acquisition with a new enterprise-focused technology for centrally managing SSL certificates in the workplace. I spoke to Amar Doshi, Symantec’s senior manager of product management about the announcement and channel implications. Here’s the scoop …

The Certificate Intelligence Center (CIC) is Symantec’s new baby, based in the cloud, designed to take the SSL Certificate management tools you’ve been using and kick them to the curb. According to Symantec, not only does CIC provide the deep visibility and centralized management IT admins crave, it also can manage certificates regardless of from where they were issued. It can actively seek out certificates on the network, discover and apply certificates based on security compliance standards, and minimize the risk associated with unauthorized certificate problems. Automated enforcement also can be applied, in addition to tools that streamline the process of authorizing and installing all certificates on the network.

The CIC solution set is based on mitigating the “pain-points” that small and large enterprise IT admins experience, Doshi said. Symantec has also striven to make things easier on the eyes, too. “A key differentiator, right out of the box [is that] the user interface [has been] designed to be intuitive,” he said.

Currently, CIC is only available direct from Symantec, and Doshi said Symantec is encouraging its large channel partners to use the technology themselves “to manage their own environments.” Reselling CIC is on the roadmap, and Doshi said eventually Symantec “… will be able to offer this to reseller partners.” That opportunity may be coming soon, as Doshi said Symantec is seeing a lot of interest in the CIC. Meanwhile, security VARs may want to take note: SSL Certificate authentication could be a place to beef up your offerings, especially when working in the enterprise or with privacy-focused verticals.