Russian bank shifts digital certificate management to SafeTech CA
Alfa-Bank has begun migrating its corporate certificate authority to the Russian platform SafeTech CA, replacing Microsoft Certificate Authority. The new system has already been deployed within the bank’s IT infrastructure.
A certificate authority is a core component of a large organisation’s IT environment. It issues and manages digital certificates used to secure internal services, servers, workstations, and service connections. In practical terms, it is the mechanism through which systems determine which users and services can be trusted. Without it, secure operation of corporate networks, banking applications, and remote access services is not possible.
Phased migration
As part of the project, Alfa-Bank and SafeTech Lab are carrying out a phased transition. This approach allows the issuance, storage, and revocation of certificates to be gradually moved to the domestic platform without disrupting day-to-day operations or creating operational risks. During the migration period, legacy and new components run in parallel, simplifying the process.
SafeTech CA covers the full certificate management lifecycle, including issuance, renewal, revocation, and expiry monitoring. The system integrates with the bank’s existing IT services and supports centralised administration. This reduces the workload on cybersecurity teams and lowers the risk of errors associated with manual configuration.
Security and resilience
At Alfa-Bank, the choice of a domestic product is linked to priorities around security and infrastructure resilience.
SafeTech Lab, in turn, points to the practical aspects of the project.
The move to SafeTech CA allows the bank not only to meet regulatory requirements, but also to establish a long-term model for managing digital certificates based on Russian technologies, while retaining control over key elements of IT security.
