Cloud PKI Migration Services
Future‑proof your Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) with a vendor‑neutral partner. SafeCipher designs and delivers cloud PKI migrations that modernise Microsoft AD CS, EJBCA and private CAs; integrate AWS ACM Private CA, Azure Key Vault/Managed HSM, and Google CAS; and automate certificate lifecycle management (ACME/EST/SCEP/CMP) across apps, edge, and Kubernetes.
Why Move PKI to the Cloud? (Scalability, Resilience, Compliance)
- Elastic scale & HA across regions/AZs; automated backups and DR
- Proximity to workloads (cloud & edge) to reduce latency for issuance
- Operational efficiency via APIs, infrastructure‑as‑code, and CLM automation
- Compliance with GDPR/UK GDPR, NIS2, PCI DSS 4.0, ISO/IEC 27001 using evidence‑ready controls
Target Platforms We Implement (Vendor‑Neutral)
- AWS: ACM Private CA (PCA), CloudHSM/KMS, PrivateLink, CloudFront/ALB/API Gateway integration
- Azure Key Vault (AKV) & Managed HSM, App Service/Front Door, Azure AD CBA, ExpressRoute/Private Link
- Google Cloud: Certificate Authority Service (CAS), Cloud HSM/KMS, Cloud Load Balancing
- Private PKI: EJBCA, Microsoft AD CS, Entrust CSP PKI; control planes like Keyfactor and Venafi/CyberArk
Reference Architectures (Hybrid by Default)
- Hybrid Root/Issuing: offline root CA on HSM (on‑prem); issuing CAs in cloud near workloads; CRL/OCSP HA
- Service Mesh & K8s: cert‑manager with SPIFFE/SPIRE issuers; short‑lived mTLS for services; GitOps pipelines
- Edge/IoT: offline RAs, ACME/EST at gateways, constrained network CRL strategies
End‑to‑End Migration Playbook (Assessment → Pilot → Scale)
1) Assessment & Planning
- Inventory CAs, templates/profiles, issuance flows, cert stores, apps, devices, and dependencies
- Risk & compliance mapping (NCSC, NIST, ISO/IEC 27001, PCI, NIS2) and crypto policy gap analysis
2) Cloud Provider & Topology Selection
- Compare AWS PCA vs Azure AKV/MHSM vs Google CAS vs private CA; choose tenancy & sovereignty model
- Decide on‑prem root with cloud issuing, or cloud‑only for specific domains
3) Design & Architecture (HSM, Networking, CLM)
- HSM custody model (Thales Luna, Entrust nShield, Azure MHSM, AWS CloudHSM) with M‑of‑N ceremonies
- Private networking (Direct Connect/ExpressRoute/Interconnect), mTLS to HSMs/issuers, IP allow‑lists
- CLM patterns: ACME/EST/SCEP/CMP, approvals, change windows, monitoring & alerting
4) Data Classification & Encryption
- Map data to encryption patterns (TLS 1.3, AES‑GCM, ChaCha20‑Poly1305, envelope encryption via KMS)
- Secrets governance (Vault/AKV/KMS), rotation SLAs, escrow & recovery
5) Migration Strategy (No‑Downtime Cutovers)
- Blue/green issuance, parallel intermediates, staged template/profile migration
- Canary renewals during maintenance windows; rollback plans and runbooks
6) Testing & Validation
- Functional, scale, and latency tests; p95/p99 issuance SLOs; failure injection and DR drills
- Linting (x509/cabundle), path validation across OS, load balancers, clients, and devices
7) Training & Documentation
- HLD/LLD, Key Management Standard, CP/CPS updates; operator runbooks and ceremony packs
8) Operate & Optimise
- Monitoring: issuance rates, failure ratios, CRL/OCSP health, HSM metrics
- Cost optimisation: CA hierarchy choices, request/throughput modelling, reserved capacity where applicable
Certificate Use Cases We Cover (Breadth & Depth)
- TLS for apps/edge/CDN: ALB/ELB, Front Door/CloudFront; OCSP stapling, HSTS guidance
- Device & user identity: EAP‑TLS for Wi‑Fi/VPN, CBA for portals/SaaS, S/MIME
- Kubernetes mTLS: service identity, ingress/egress certs, mesh integration
- Code & document signing: EV code signing, timestamping (TSA), LTV and notarisation
Policy, Governance & Compliance (Evidence‑Driven)
- Update Crypto Policy and Key Management Standard (algorithms, key sizes, validity, rotation)
- Map controls to ISO/IEC 27001, PCI DSS 4.0, NIS2, sector requirements; maintain traceability matrices
Post‑Quantum & Crypto‑Agility
- Define crypto‑agility patterns and deprecation schedules (RSA/ECDSA lifetimes)
- Pilot hybrid approaches where supported; plan migration for PQC KEMs (e.g., Kyber) and ML‑DSA signing in internal domains
Why SafeCipher (Vendor‑Neutral, Outcome‑Driven)
- Vendor‑neutral advice; deep experience across AWS, Azure, Google, AD CS/EJBCA, Keyfactor, Venafi/CyberArk
- No‑drama cutovers: runbooks, canaries, and automated renewals prevent outages
- Audit‑ready ops: ceremony packs, immutable logs, evidence for regulators and boards
FAQ — Cloud PKI Migration
- Will we have downtime? No—blue/green issuance, canaries, and rollback plans avoid service disruption.
- Can we keep our root on‑prem? Yes—typical design is on‑prem root with cloud issuing CAs.
- What about sovereignty? We align to residency and regulator expectations, or use sovereign regions / on‑prem anchors.
- How do we handle devices and legacy apps? We stage templates/profiles, provide shims, and run parallel chains until cutover.
