Automated Enterprise Certificate Management

Digital certificates serve as the “Silent Guardians” of your enterprise security infrastructure. For large-scale fleets like 500,000 devices or more relying on passwords for network access is inefficient and insecure. A robust Enterprise Certificate Management ensures seamless, password less authentication for Wi-Fi, VPN, and Email services.

This guide details how Hexnode UEM orchestrates SCEP (Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol) and ADCS (Active Directory Certificate Services) to automate the issuance, renewal, and revocation of certificates without user interaction.

The PKI Integration Stack

Hexnode functions as a “Certificate Proxy,” bridging the communication gap between your managed endpoints and your Certificate Authority (CA). Depending on your infrastructure, Hexnode supports two primary integration models.

1. On-Premises Integration: SCEP & NDES

For organizations using Microsoft Active Directory, Hexnode integrates with the Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) to securely issue unique certificates to devices.

• The Workflow: Hexnode communicates with your NDES server to request a challenge password. This password is sent to the device, which then generates a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and presents the challenge to the NDES server to obtain the certificate.
• Security Validation: Every request is validated against a dynamic, one-time challenge password. This ensures that only managed, compliant devices can request and receive a valid certificate from your internal CA.

2. Cloud PKI Integration (DigiCert, Entrust, GlobalSign)

For cloud-first organizations or sub-companies, Hexnode offers direct API integrations with third-party Certificate Authorities.

• Architecture: Hexnode connects directly to the cloud CA (e.g., DigiCert, GlobalSign) via API, bypassing the need for complex on-premises connectors.
• Scalability: This model eliminates the need to maintain on-premises NDES servers, allowing you to issue and manage certificates for 500,000+ devices entirely from the cloud.

Automated Lifecycle Management

Manual certificate management at an enterprise scale creates significant security risks and administrative overhead. Hexnode automates the entire lifecycle to ensure continuous compliance.

Instant Revocation

Security is enforced dynamically based on device status.

• Trigger: If a device is marked as “Non-Compliant”, “Lost”, or “Stolen” in the Hexnode console.
• Action: Hexnode immediately signals the CA to revoke the certificate (updating the CRL or via OCSP). This instantly severs the device’s ability to connect to the corporate Wi-Fi or VPN, effectively quarantining it.

Core Use Cases

Implementing PKI at scale unlocks critical security capabilities for your fleet: