Some end users of an e-commerce website are reporting a delay when browsing pages. The website uses TLS 1.2. A security architect for the website troubleshoots by connecting from home to the website and capturing traffic via Wireshark. The security architect finds that the issue is the time required to validate the certificate. Which of the following solutions should the security architect recommend?
To resolve the delay caused by the time required to validate the certificate, the security architect should implement OCSP stapling on the server. OCSP stapling allows the server to periodically retrieve its certificate status from the Certificate Authority and bundle this status with the TLS handshake. This eliminates the need for clients to individually query the CA, thus reducing the connection time and improving performance.
C. Implementing OCSP stapling on the server OCSP stapling allows the web server to provide a digitally signed and time-stamped OCSP response as part of the TLS handshake process, which can significantly reduce the time required to validate the certificate. This helps improve the performance of SSL/TLS connections.
C. Implementing OCSP stapling on the server Explanation: OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) is a protocol used to check the revocation status of a digital certificate. When a client connects to a server, it may need to check the status of the server's certificate by sending a request to the Certificate Authority (CA). This can introduce a delay, especially if the CA's server is slow or unreachable. OCSP stapling is a solution where the server periodically retrieves its certificate status from the CA and then "staples" this status to the TLS handshake. This means the client doesn't need to make a separate connection to the CA, thus reducing the connection time.
OCSP Stapling: OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) stapling reduces the overhead and latency associated with certificate validation. Instead of having each client query the Certificate Authority (CA) directly to check the revocation status of a certificate, the server periodically queries the CA and "staples" the OCSP response to the TLS handshake. This way, clients receive the certificate status directly from the server, reducing the time and improving performance.