Difference between CA & self-signed certificates, and which to use in Data360 Analyze

An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is required for all SSL transactions, and is required for HTTPS. There are two types of SSL certificates:

• Self-signed certificates generated by the application itself
• Certificates that are signed by a CA (Certificate Authority) such as Verisign or Thawte

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELF-SIGNED & CA CERTIFICATES:

The primary operational difference between a self-signed certificate and a CA certificate is that with self-signed, a browser will generally give some type of error, warning that the certificate is not issued by a CA. An example of the self-signed certificate error is shown in the screenshot below.

This is the same warning message you receive when connecting to the Web User Interface (WUI), as the WUI uses a self-signed certificate. Generally, this warning should occur only once per browsing session.

Both self-signed and CA signed certificates provide encryption for data in motion. A CA-signed certificate also provides authentication - a level of assurance that the site is what it reports to be, and not an impostor website. 

RECOMMENDED CERT IN DATA360 ANALYZE:

If you use a self signed cert to enable HTTPS, Chrome (or any browser) will warn you about not trusting the site and you'll have to tick a box to get past it. It will still work, however it would be better if users didn't see warnings like that, to avoid confusion. Therefore, we recommend you use a cert from a CA. 

It is recommended that self-signed certificates should not be used for public-facing production websites. 

They may be acceptable for use in some other cases, for example:

• Intranet sites
• Quality Analysis (QA) sites, where web sites are tested but not presented to the general public

STEPS TO ADD CA CERT TO DATA360 ANALYZE:

Install CA Cert into Analyze