Systems and methods for discovering website certificate information
View Patent ↗The disclosed computer-implemented method for discovering website certificate information may include (1) receiving, from a plurality of computing devices within a community of users, information that identifies the certificate statuses of websites visited by the computing devices, (2) identifying, by analyzing the information, at least one issue with the certificate status of at least one website visited by at least one of the computing devices, and (3) performing at least one remedial action in an attempt to correct the issue with the certificate status of the website. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
1. A computer-implemented method for discovering website certificate information, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:
receiving, from a plurality of computing devices within a community of users, information that identifies certificate statuses of websites visited by the computing devices, wherein each of the computing devices comprises an instance of the same security software;
identifying, by analyzing the information received from the plurality of computing devices within the community of users, at least one issue with a certificate status of at least one website visited by at least one of the computing devices; and
performing at least one remedial action in an attempt to correct the issue with the certificate status of the website.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the information that identifies the certificate statuses of the websites visited by the computing devices comprises receiving the information from the instances of the security software.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the computing devices obtained the information by:
attempting to connect to the website a plurality of times; and
using a different cipher suite and/or cryptographic protocol version during each connection attempt.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the issue with the certificate status of the website comprises at least one of:
determining that the website's certificate is misconfigured;
determining that a trust seal utilized by the website is misconfigured;
determining that the website's certificate has expired;
determining that the website's certificate currently falls within a renewal window;
determining that the website does not use a specific type of certificate; and
determining that the website fails to utilize a certificate in connection with a login function provided by the website.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the information that identifies the certificate statuses of the websites visited by the computing devices comprises at least one of:
analyzing a cipher suite specified by the website's certificate;
analyzing a certificate chain associated with the website's certificate; and
analyzing a cryptographic protocol utilized by the website's certificate.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein analyzing the certificate chain associated with the website's certificate comprises at least one of:
determining that the website's certificate has been revoked; and
determining that at least one certificate in the certificate chain has been revoked.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of analyzing the information that identifies the certificate statuses of the websites visited by the computing devices is performed by the computing devices.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the remedial action comprises at least one of:
correctly configuring the website's certificate;
correctly configuring a trust seal utilized by the website; and
notifying an administrator of the website that at least one of:
the website's certificate has expired;
the website's certificate currently falls within a renewal window;
the website's certificate has been revoked;
at least one certificate in a certificate chain associated with the website's certificate has been revoked;
the website's certificate is misconfigured;
a trust seal utilized by the website is misconfigured; and
the website fails to utilize a certificate in connection with a login function provided by the website.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the remedial action comprises providing an administrator of the website with an opportunity to at least one of:
renew the website's certificate; and
purchase a new website certificate.
10. A system for discovering website certificate information, the system comprising:
a communication module, stored in memory, that receives, from a plurality of computing devices within a community of users, information that identifies certificate statuses of websites visited by the computing devices, wherein each of the computing devices comprises an instance of the same security software;
an identification module, stored in memory, that identifies, by analyzing the information received from the plurality of computing devices within the community of users, at least one issue with a certificate status of at least one website visited by at least one of the computing devices;
a remediation module, stored in memory, that performs at least one remedial action in an attempt to correct the issue with the certificate status of the website; and
at least one processor configured to execute the communication module, the identification module, and the remediation module.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the communication module receives the information that identifies the certificate statuses of the websites visited by the computing devices from the instances of the security software.
12. The system of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the computing devices obtained the information by:
attempting to connect to the website a plurality of times; and
using a different cipher suite and/or cryptographic protocol version during each connection attempt.
13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the identification module identifies the issue with the certificate status of the website by at least one of:
determining that the website's certificate is misconfigured;
determining that a trust seal utilized by the website is misconfigured;
determining that the website's certificate has expired;
determining that the website's certificate currently falls within a renewal window;
determining that the website does not use a specific type of certificate; and
determining that the website fails to utilize a certificate in connection with a login function provided by the website.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the identification module analyzes the information that identifies the certificate statuses of the websites visited by the computing devices by at least one of:
analyzing a cipher suite specified by the website's certificate;
analyzing a certificate chain associated with the website's certificate; and
analyzing a cryptographic protocol utilized by the website's certificate.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the identification module analyzes the certificate chain associated with the website's certificate by at least one of:
determining that the website's certificate has been revoked; and
determining that at least one certificate in the certificate chain has been revoked.
16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the identification module is installed on, and executed by, the computing devices.
17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the remediation module performs the remedial action by at least one of:
correctly configuring the website's certificate;
correctly configuring a trust seal utilized by the website; and
notifying an administrator of the website that at least one of:
the website's certificate has expired;
the website's certificate currently falls within a renewal window;
the website's certificate has been revoked;
at least one certificate in a certificate chain associated with the website's certificate has been revoked;
the website's certificate is misconfigured;
a trust seal utilized by the website is misconfigured; and
the website fails to utilize a certificate in connection with a login function provided by the website.
18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the remediation module performs the remedial action by providing an administrator of the website with an opportunity to at least one of:
renew the website's certificate; and
purchase a new website certificate.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:
receive, from a plurality of computing devices within a community of users, information that identifies certificate statuses of websites visited by the computing devices, wherein each of the computing devices comprises an instance of the same security software;
identify, by analyzing the information received from the plurality of computing devices within the community of users, at least one issue with a certificate status of at least one website visited by at least one of the computing devices; and
perform at least one remedial action in an attempt to correct the issue with the certificate status of the website.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, further cause the computing device to:
determine that the website's certificate is misconfigured;
determine that a trust seal utilized by the website is misconfigured;
determine that the website's certificate has expired;
determine that the website's certificate currently falls within a renewal window;
determine that the website does not use a specific type of certificate; and
determine that the website fails to utilize a certificate in connection with a login function provided by the website.