A cryptography inventory is indispensable - especially at a time when certificate validity periods are becoming drastically shorter. This is the only way to control risks, avoid failures and ensure the resilience of your IT systems.

Content
The invisible risk: Lost certificates in complex infrastructures
Why visibility is security
What is a Cryptographic Inventory – and Why Does It Matter?
Meet essendi cd – Your certificate discovery powerhouse
How it works: From scan to insight
Crypto-Agility in Practice: From Theory to Response
From visibility to action: Compliance and crypto-agility
Regulatory Pressure and Certificate Chaos: The New Compliance Reality
From fragmented visibility to full asset awareness

 

The invisible risk: Lost certificates in complex infrastructures

But in today’s dynamic IT infrastructures, certificates often show up quietly. They are preinstalled on new hardware, bundled with software, embedded in APIs or DevOps pipelines. They are easily forgotten and difficult to track.

The consequences? They can be severe:

  • Certificates expire unnoticed.
  • Security protocols fail silently.
  • Systems crash unexpectedly.
  • Audits reveal hidden compliance gaps.
  • Business continuity is put at risk.
  • Outdated cryptographic assets pose a threat to long-term security.

The CA/Browser Forum — an association of leading browser vendors and certificate authorities — has recently decided to gradually reduce the maximum validity period of public TLS certificates to just 47 days by March 2029. For companies, this means a significantly higher frequency in renewing and managing their certificates. Only through consistent automation can outages and security incidents be reliably avoided. Proactive expiration notifications and continuous monitoring are therefore essential requirements for maintaining availability and trust.

 

Why visibility is security

To manage certificates effectively, you must first see them. Without full visibility into where certificates or keys are stored, used, or duplicated, organizations fly blind.

Visibility is more than just convenience – it’s a matter of security, compliance, and resilience:

  • Regulations like DORA, NIS2, and ISO 27001 demand a cryptographic asset inventory.
  • Internal IT policies rely on accurate monitoring to identify risks before incidents occur.
  • TLS/SSL certificate monitoring tools are essential for avoiding unexpected outages.
  • Digital certificate monitoring across distributed networks improves resilience.
  • Crypto-agility becomes essential as cryptographic standards evolve, especially with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) on the horizon.
  • Visibility supports Zero Trust policies and enhances hybrid IT security monitoring.

 

What is a Cryptographic Inventory – and Why Does It Matter?

A cryptographic inventory is a comprehensive overview of all cryptographic assets within an organization’s IT environment. These assets include:

  • TLS/SSL certificates
  • Private and public keys
  • Root and intermediate certificate authorities (CAs)
  • Cryptographic algorithms and their configurations
  • Tokens, secrets, and key stores

Unlike conventional asset inventories, a cryptographic inventory focuses specifically on the elements that enable secure archiving, communication and trust in digital systems.
Ultimately, organizations must shift toward a post-quantum cryptographic inventory. One that not only catalogs current assets but is ready for future cryptographic standards and quantum-resistant algorithms.

Why is it important?

Without a cryptographic inventory, organizations lack the visibility needed to:

  • Detect expired or misconfigured certificates before they cause outages
  • Monitor algorithm usage and ensure readiness for standards like Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)
  • Respond quickly to compromised or revoked keys
  • Satisfy compliance requirements in frameworks like DORA, NIS2, or ISO 27001
  • Maintain trust in customer-facing and internal systems

These assets also underpin essential mechanisms such as digital signatures, which verify identity and maintain the integrity of communications. A robust cryptographic inventory is therefore not just a security measure — it’s the foundation of modern digital security.
Certificate lifetimes are getting shorter. At the same time, security threats are becoming more advanced. That’s why cryptographic transparency is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity.

The silent risk of unknown digital assets

Certificates often go unnoticed — hidden in third-party software, left on retired servers, or embedded in legacy APIs. These invisible cryptographic assets can create blind spots, exposing systems to silent failures or compliance violations.
Building a cryptographic inventory is the first step toward strengthening cyber readiness and enabling crypto-agility. It gives security teams the visibility they need to move from reactive firefighting to continuous, audit-ready control.

 

Meet essendi cd – Your certificate discovery powerhouse

Unlike conventional tools focused solely on lifecycle operations, essendi cd specializes in discovery and cryptographic transparency across distributed environments.
It automatically scans, identifies, and inventories every certificate and cryptographic asset across your infrastructure. This includes keys, certificates, crypto assets, and trust anchors — whether stored in local file systems, certificate stores, cloud services, containers, or third-party systems.
Whether your certificates come from public CAs, internal PKIs, or embedded IoT devices – essendi cd will find them all. It then builds a complete X.509 certificate inventory across your entire environment.
It also complements existing Public Key Infrastructure tools by focusing on asset discovery, transparency, and automation.

 

How it works: From scan to insight

essendi cd offers powerful, automated scanning methods tailored to real IT environments:

  • File system scanning: Identifies certificates such as .crt, .pem, .pfx in local and server file structures
  • Network scan: Discovers SSL certificate discovery across domains, IP ranges, and hosts
  • Certificate store scan: Analyzes Windows certificate stores (LocalMachine, CurrentUser)
  • API import: Integrate cryptographic data from tools like Tenable.io or Dynatrace. Support for Cryptographic Bill of Materials (CBOM) is planned for 2025.

Once certificates are discovered, essendi cd:

  • Evaluates algorithms, key lengths, validity dates, and issuers
  • Verifies authenticity and automated certificate compliance checks
  • Tags and filters certificates based on customizable metadata
  • Alerts administrators when risks are detected, including automated certificate expiry alerts
  • Triggers external actions via REST API integrations

All findings are visualized in a central dashboard that turns certificate chaos into certificate lifecycle automation and manageable transparency.

 

Crypto-Agility in Practice: From Theory to Response

Crypto-agility refers to an organization’s ability to quickly replace cryptographic algorithms, keys, and certificates without disrupting systems or workflows. It’s a critical capability in today’s security landscape, where new vulnerabilities and standards emerge at an accelerating pace.

Why it matters now

Crypto-Agility ist längst keine Spezialdisziplin mehr, sondern zu einer strategischen Pflichtaufgabe für Unternehmen geworden. Und das hat gute Gründe:

  • Algorithm deprecation: SHA-1, once industry standard, is now widely rejected.
  • Post-Quantum readiness: PQC is becoming critical. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is finalizing post-quantum algorithms and defining global standards and technology for cryptographic resilience. Organizations must prepare accordingly.
  • Zero-trust environments: Agility supports dynamic key rotation and validation.

Quantum Computing: The Threat Is Getting Closer

Crypto-Agility in der Praxis bedeutet:

  • The ability to search and filter certificates by algorithm or key size
  • Instantly identifying assets using deprecated or weak cryptography
  • Automating updates and renewals via REST APIs
  • Ensuring legacy systems don’t block modern policies

Organizations that embed crypto-agility into their certificate strategy are better prepared to respond to emerging threats. They can adapt more easily to policy changes and meet the cryptographic demands of tomorrow.
As quantum computing advances, the threat posed by a cryptographically relevant quantum computer (CRQC) becomes increasingly real. Organizations that postpone inventorying and upgrading their cryptographic systems risk falling behind. Future-ready infrastructures must plan for a complete migration to PQC (Post-Quantum Cryptography) — not only to stay compliant, but to secure long-term operational continuity.

 

From visibility to action: Compliance and crypto-agility

essendi cd is more than just a discovery tool. It provides a solid foundation for long-term resilience and enterprise-grade certificate lifecycle management.
With automated scans and customizable rules, it continuously monitors your environment, flags violations, and provides reports for:

  • Internal audits
  • Regulatory compliance (DORA, ISO 27001, NIST, and NIS2)
  • PKI management and digital certificate lifecycle tracking
  • Readiness for migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)
  • Crypto-inventory automation ensures consistency and auditability at scale.

By building a comprehensive cryptographic asset inventory, you enable your organization to adapt to emerging threats and rapidly evolving standards in cybersecurity.
Combined with essendi xc, the full certificate lifecycle – from issuance to renewal and revocation – can be automated using integrated cryptographic workflows.

 

Regulatory Pressure and Certificate Chaos: The New Compliance Reality

Digital certificates are no longer just a technical concern – they’re a regulatory one. Governments and industry bodies are tightening requirements for cryptographic controls, putting unprecedented pressure on IT and security teams.

What the rules demand

Regulations like the EU’s DORA, NIS2, and standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 and NIST 800-53 require organizations to:

  • Maintain an accurate inventory of cryptographic assets
  • Document certificate usage, ownership, and renewal processes
  • Ensure algorithm strength and key sizes meet minimum standards
  • Prove compliance through regular audits and automated reporting

In the United States, recent mandates from the federal government are raising the bar for cryptographic oversight. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued new guidance for federal agencies. It requires full cryptographic transparency and preparation for post-quantum threats.

Why most organizations struggle

Many environments are built on a mix of manual processes, incomplete inventories, and siloed certificate stores. This leads to:

  • Missed expirations and unexpected outages
  • Audit failures and penalty risks
  • Difficulty proving compliance or executing crypto transitions

 

From fragmented visibility to full asset awareness

A centralized discovery and monitoring tool – like essendi cd – helps turn regulatory burden into operational strength. Visualizing the full certificate landscape helps organizations stay audit-ready and reduce compliance fatigue. It also eliminates blind spots that can lead to costly failures.

Transparency, compliance, and control – with one solution

Invisible certificates are a silent risk.
essendi cd turns them into visible, manageable assets – improving your:

  • IT resilience
  • Audit readiness
  • Crypto-agility
  • Zero Trust infrastructure visibility
  • TLS/SSL certificate lifecycle visibility across cloud and hybrid environments
  • Digital trust management begins with full control over every certificate.

Whether you’re preparing for a quantum-safe future or trying to prevent unexpected system outages — you need full visibility and control. essendi cd provides automated certificate discovery and management to make that possible.

 

Want to see how it works?

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