On November 16th, we gathered in beautiful Singapore along with our partners in the Asia-Pacific region to network and strategize about all things WebPros.
After two years of cancelled, or otherwise virtual, events it was a significant (and welcomed) change to be able to once again actually meet in person at APAC Partner Day 2022. With a special thanks to our sponsors, we were able to come together with a focus on helping our partners grow and scale their businesses with particular emphasis on new products, trends, and strategies.
We wanted to share with the rest of the WHMCS community one of the topics of discussed and presented by Cameron Nelson, Director of Strategic Growth at Digicert.
TLDR:
- FTC reported 77% increase in fraud compared with 2020
- The 2022 Digital trust survey revealed that two-thirds (68%) of consumers say digital trust is important. Half (47%) have stopped doing business with a company that lost their trust.
- "High-assurance" certificates, OV &EV are used by Global 2000, Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions worldwide.
- In 2021, Facebook experienced a certificate-related outage that cost the company between $60-$100M in lost revenue
- 88% of companies experienced unplanned SSL certificate-related outages in the past 24 months, costing millions of dollars per outage
- As of October 2022, there were 374,631 certificates switched from Let's Encrypt to a DigiCert certificate, a net positive of 23,428 certificates.
- High-assurance certificates provided DigiCert include 24/7/365 live support, authentication of the owner of the website, longer validity periods, certificate lifecycle management tools, warranties, and site seals
- With WHMCS MarketConnect you can instantly offer SSL and its latest features to your customers. Learn more about MarketConnect and its benefits.
Establishing Digital Trust with TLS/SSL
Digital trust has never been more important than it is today. Increasing connectivity and digital transformation are introducing new ways to improve living, address economic growth and build a better future. At the same time, they are expanding our exposure to cyberattacks. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 5.88 million fraud reports in 2021, a 19% increase from the year prior. Reports of associated financial losses topped $6.1 billion, an increase of more than 77% compared with 2020. Companies establish digital trust in the real world when they ensure that our personal information in the digital world is secure.
Digital trust is confidence in an organization to maintain secure services, protect its customers' information, and be transparent about how they process this information. Companies establish digital trust by ensuring that their customers' information is safe and making this priority clear to their customers.
Building digital trust
Digital trust is based on three key elements: strong encryption that secures data in transit, assurance of the integrity of the connection, and identity authentication of the individual or webserver at the other end. An essential technology for ensuring digital trust on a website is a TLS/SSL certificate. Not using TLS/SSL certificates can cause significant consequences.
Strong Encryption with DigiCert SSL
Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates - commonly known as SSL certificates - are the foundation of a safe and secure internet.
Identity Authentication
Having a secure connection isn't enough to create digital trust. Customers need to know that the personal information they are sharing is going to a legitimate, trusted website. Authorized Certificate Authorities (CAs), like DigiCert, verify the ownership and identity of the business or person that owns the domain name associated with the website.
An untrusted website could prevent customers from completing purchases or doing business with a company. The 2022 State of Digital Trust Survey revealed that two-thirds (68%) of consumers say digital trust is important, with a third (36%) saying it is extremely important. In fact, half (47%) have stopped doing business with a company that lost their trust in the past. Going forward, 84% would consider switching, with 57% saying switching would be likely. High-assurance certificates signal the highest level of security and brand authenticity to customers.
There are two kinds of "high-assurance" certificates, which provide a meaningful level of authentication: Extended Validation (EV) and Organization Validated (OV) certificates. That's why EV & OV certificates are used by Global 2000, Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions worldwide.
Domain Validated (DV) certificates, on the other hand, only validate that a person - could be anybody - has access to the email address associated with the website's domain. They don't verify the legitimacy of that person or business. These certificates are used for informational websites where no information is shared. When sensitive information is being shared, OV and EV certificates help build consumer trust.
The Hidden Cost of Free SSL
In 2021, Facebook experienced a certificate-related outage that cost the company between $60-$100M in lost revenue. One security report showed that 88% of companies experienced unplanned SSL certificate-related outages in the past 24 months, costing millions of dollars per outage. Preventing and resolving a certificate-related outage in a timely manner is crucial to a company's bottom line.
DigiCert is the only CA with a net positive compared to other commercial CAs.
As of October 2022, there were 374,631 certificates switched from Let's Encrypt to a DigiCert certificate, a net positive of 23,428 certificates.
When choosing a TLS/SSL certificate, some website owners don't realize that not all certificates are equal and are sometimes tempted to choose a low-cost or even free solution. They are often unaware of the hidden cost of free SSL certificates until there is a certificate-related problem or customer don't engage online. High-assurance certificates provided by CAs like DigiCert include 24/7/365 live support, authentication of the owner of the website, longer validity periods to avoid outages, certificate lifecycle management tools, up to $2 million warranty, and trusted site seals that increase brand equity.
| Free Certificate | Paid Certificate | |
| HTTPS | ||
| Enhanced Validation | ||
| Live Support | ||
| Flexible Lifetime | ||
| Trust Marks | ||
| Warranty | ||
| Certificate lifecycle management |
When companies incur all the hidden costs of a free SSL certificate, they realize that the value of live 24/7/365 support, increased brand trust, and certificate lifecycle management included with a paid certificate always outweighs the price tag.
In the digitally connected world we live in, we must feel confident that our data is safe and secure, and that we can trust the companies with which we interact online. Companies create and maintain a secure and trusted online experience with high-assurance TLS/SSL certificates that provide strong encryption, complete data integrity, and rigorous identity authentication for the digital transaction. It's about establishing digital trust for the real world. The alternative comes at too high a cost.
WHMCS is a proud partner of DigiCert, and SSL is the leading revenue driver product in MarketConnect. With WHMCS MarketConnect you can instantly offer SSL and its latest features to your customers. Learn more about MarketConnect and its benefits.
