Let’s Encrypt will be reducing the validity period of the certificates we issue. We currently issue certificates valid for 90 days, which will be cut in half to 45 days by 2028.
This change is being made along with the rest of the industry, as required by the CA/Browser Forum Baseline Requirements, which set the technical requirements that we must follow. All publicly-trusted Certificate Authorities like Let’s Encrypt will be making similar changes. Reducing how long certificates are valid for helps improve the security of the internet, by limiting the scope of compromise, and making certificate revocation technologies more efficient.
I’m trying to think of the last time I heard news about something to do with the internet getting better instead of worse, and I’m genuinely coming up blank.
Make no mistake: this is an improvement.
There are substantial unsolvable issues with long lived certificates, and automatic deployment of very short lived certificates is the way to solve them.
Plan for certificate validity of six days in a few years.
Automated certificates are relatively new and pretty neat. Killing off the certificate cartels is an added bonus.
Yeah, I think Letsencrypt (and others) are one of the best things to happen for the internet.
You used to have to cough up a good chunk of monies for a certificate.
Now it’s easily accessible and you (i) never have to think about it after the first setup because a robot automatically renews expiring certificates for me.
Generally this is one of the best improvements: a more secure web that is easier to achieve.
Wait, how’s this worse? This makes the Internet safer by reducing the window a leaked key can do harm.
Let’s all just start self signing in protest