Let’s Encrypt Issues First IP Address Certificate
Let’s Encrypt has issued its first certificate for an IP address and will soon roll out this option to other subscribers. The non-profit organization, which provides free TLS certificates to websites, first announced this feature along with new short-lived certificates back in January.
IP address certificates are less common than domain name certificates for three main reasons, explains Aaron Gable:
- First, Internet users typically recognize services by domain names rather than IP addresses.
- Second, IP addresses can change easily, so the sense of “ownership” for them tends to be weaker than for a domain name.
- Third, most Internet service operators don’t expect end users to intentionally connect to their sites directly by IP address.
IP address certificates are available now in Let’s Encrypt’s Staging environment and will be generally available later in 2025. As a matter of policy, Let’s Encrypt says, certificates that cover IP addresses must be short-lived certs, which are valid for only about six days.
Learn more at Let’s Encrypt.
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