Hackers Acquire Counterfeit TLS Certificates for Google and Other Major Services

<p>Attackers hijacked three top-level domains and used their control to mint counterfeit TLS certificates for Google and other large organizations, Google stated on Tuesday.</p><p>The attackers executed a series of attacks on the .gh, .sl, and .as country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) and modified authoritative DNS records for selected domains within those namespaces. By controlling those DNS records, the attackers were able to pass automated domain control validation checks and obtain unauthorized certificates for several Google domains and several leading global brands and widely used online services. Google reported that it updated Chrome to block all certificates it identified as unauthorized and collaborated with the issuing certification authorities to ensure the unauthorized certificates for Google properties were revoked.</p><h2>Certificate Issuance: The Weak Link in the Chain</h2><p>TLS certificates are the cryptographic credentials that underpin authentication and encryption protections for websites, mail servers, and other Internet infrastructure. These x.509 certificates use a digital signature to bind a domain name such as google.com to a public key. The public key is publicly available, while the private key is held only by the website operator. When a connection shows that the keys match, the visiting party knows it’s connected to the authentic site rather than an impostor. Possession of unauthorized certificates allows attackers to cryptographically impersonate the affected infrastructure.</p>