SITE CERTIFICATE

SSL expiration has been making headlines lately with Netcraft recently reporting over 200 certificates have expired in relation to the US government shutdown. With many people wondering “What’s the big deal?” we wanted to examine why expiration is important and outline how it affects both website owners and website visitors.

Consequences of Expired SSL

Unlike some services that renew automatically until specifically cancelled, SSL Certificates have a set expiry date. Letting an SSL Certificate expire can have a number of consequences for the website owner and also for the end user.

Website Owner:

• Reduction in trust as the site becomes unsecure
• Decline in sales and revenue with increased shopping basket abandonments
• Corporate brand and reputation adversely affected putting the business at risk

Website User:

• Warning error messages displayed by browsers when visiting the site
• Personal information at risk from man-in-the-middle attacks
• Individual susceptible to fraud and identity theft

How a Browser Displays Expired SSL Certificates

Browser Name - Google Chrome