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Certificate Transparency Implementation

1 post · Sep 2020

What this trail covers

Certificate Transparency (CT) is a security mechanism that logs issued certificates to detect mis-issued or compromised certificates. Modern browsers enforce CT, and mobile developers can implement client-side checks using libraries or platform defaults. Server-side, ensuring certificates have valid Server Certificate Timestamps (SCTs) is crucial. Third-party tools can monitor CT logs, or individual applications can perform client-side validation.

All IBM trails
  1. Certificate transparency for web and mobile appsThis post details the implementation of Certificate Transparency (CT) for web and mobile applications. It explains the core concept of CT using Merkle Trees, outlines actions for web developers (relying on browser enforcement and providing verification steps), and provides specific guidance for mobile developers. For iOS, it notes default enforcement and a plist option for older versions. For Android, it introduces the `certificate-transparency-android` library and demonstrates its integration with OkHttpClient for client-side checks. It also reiterates the server-side requirement of valid SCTs.