Keyfactor Research Reveals Rates of Digital Certificate Outages Keyfactor Research Reveals Digital Certificate Outages a Weekly Reality for 1 in 10 EnterprisesData finds 86% of organizations suffered outages in the past year, exposing the urgent need to overcome automation challenges and visibility gapsKeyfactor announced findings from its Digital Trust Digest: The Automation Edition, conducted in partnership with Wakefield Research. Keyfactor’s research reveals growing pressure on organizations to modernize their certificate management practices as certificate lifespans shrink and automation becomes essential.
The report finds that many organizations are struggling with certificate management. An overwhelming 86% of companies suffered at least one outage and subsequent disruption due to expired or mismanaged digital certificates within the past year, with nearly one-third (31%) reporting outages at least once a quarter. Alarmingly, 10% reported an outage every single week, highlighting the pervasive and disruptive impact of poor certificate management on today’s digital infrastructure. With TLS certificate lifespans set to shorten to just 47 days by 2029, enterprises that fail to gain visibility and automate processes face increased operational risk. Certificate Outages Persist as Visibility and Staffing Fall Short Despite the frequency of outages, many organizations still lack the visibility and tools to prevent them. Those in charge of certificate management cited the following as top challenges to successful certificate lifecycle management:
Only 17% of practitioners reported having complete, real-time visibility across all certificates. Without a clear, centralized view of where certificates are, when they expire, and how they’re being used, organizations are flying blind, reacting to issues only after systems go down. “There is a critical gap between the importance of digital trust and the reality of how organizations are managing it,” said Jordan Rackie, CEO of Keyfactor. “When teams lack visibility into their certificate landscape, outages become inevitable and frequent. This is not just an IT issue; it’s a business risk that disrupts operations, degrades the customer experience, erodes digital trust, and drains revenue. By contrast, enterprises that proactively automate can transform certificate management from a hidden cost into a driver of reliability, trust, and growth.” Automation Momentum Builds, But Challenges Prevent Widespread Success Nearly 70% of respondents report pressure to automate certificate lifecycle management, and 84% plan to increase automation investment in the next 12 months. Yet while 53% have automated at least part of their certificate lifecycle processes, 40% report only partial success from automation, and 7% say their efforts failed entirely. Notably, essential processes like certificate renewals are lagging behind, with just 46% reporting automation in this area. The most common factors behind this critical gap include:
“Automation is essential, but getting there isn’t easy,” said Chris Hickman, Chief Security Officer at Keyfactor. “Enterprises face a perfect storm of rising device volumes, tightening regulations, and shorter certificate lifespans on the horizon. Partnering with trusted experts like Keyfactor allows organizations to set themselves up for more secure, agile, and resilient operations tomorrow.” Automation as a Business Imperative: Transforming Certificate Management from Hidden Cost to Growth Driver Even as hurdles persist, PKI and certificate management professionals are clear-eyed about the upside of automation. Respondents expect automation to deliver measurable value beyond operational efficiency, helping them:
“Automation is more than risk avoidance,” added Rackie. “Enterprises that proactively automate can transform certificate management into a driver for growth by unlocking efficiency, ensuring compliance, and ultimately, generating profitability. In today’s digital age, certificate automation is a strategic necessity.” The study, conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Keyfactor, includes responses from 450 public key infrastructure and certificate management practitioners at companies with a minimum of 1,000 employees across North America and Europe. Source: Keyfactor media announcement | |
